Pokemon Savior:Legendary Journey
by The Warped Mind
Summary: It's really unbelievable. I was just going for a walk in the woods with my little buddy, then everything changed when I saved the Pokemon of the Lake. Now it's my job to take care of the world's newest crime syndicate. Rated M for a number of reasons
1. Chapter 1

Okay, major editing needed. This will be in 1st person POV. I not used to writing like that, so it might suck a little.

Disclaimer:I own nothing in this story accept my own Oc.

XXXX=Scene Change

Pokemon Savior:Legendary Journey

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Chapter 1:The Journey Begins

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I woke up to the sun shining through my window. I yawned and stretched my arms sleepily.

"Uuugghh, I couldn't have a window pointed to the west, could I?"I growled to myself groggily. I'm really not a morning person. I scratched my head as I stood up, then dragged my lazy rear downstairs, grabbing my goggles and slipping them on my forehead as I did so. I walked into the kitchen, following the scent of bacon, my favorite breakfast food. I sat down at the table and let my head bang on it, trying to go back to sleep. Like I said, I'm REALLY not a morning person. Mom was at the stove, cooking our breakfast.

"Good morning, Sunshine,"she said jokingly, to which I just mumbled a greeting. She rolled her eyes and walked up to the table putting my plate next to my head, whistling a tune. She loved mornings, always saying how they were the start of a brand new, glorious day. How the frick was she my mother?

I heard something small land on the table and then felt a small tap on my head. I smiled slightly as I looked up and into my little friend's red eyes, a smile on the little creature's blue and black face. In case you can't figure it out, the creature I'm talking about is a Riolu. About a year ago, I had found the little guy when I was walking through the woods, all by himself. As you can guess, I felt sorry for the little guy and decided to bring him home with me. Fortunately, Mom didn't object. I gave him the nickname Anubis. Pretty appropriate, considering what his evolved form looked like. I patted his little blue head a bit before sitting up, ruffling my own black hair.

"Why does it take you so long to wake up?"he asked me. Yes, I understood him. No, he couldn't speak English, but I could understand him. It was a unique ability I've had for as long as I can remember. I have the ability to understand Pokemon. Cool, huh? Back to the matter at hand, I shrugged at his question."Maybe you should drink some of that coffee stuff."

"Uh huh, and get the same caffeine rush you did when you tried some of it?"I asked, raising an eyebrow."No thanks."Yyyyeah, see, he had gotten ahold of some of Mom's coffee one day. He was LITERALLY bouncing of the walls for a week! He scratched the back of his neck nervously at the memory.

"It's not my fault you didn't tell me it would affect me like that,"he muttered with a frown. Mom noticed us conversing.

"And what is little Anubis saying to you, son?"she asked curiously. Yes, she knew about my ability. Actually, everybody in Twinleaf town knew. It's not like this place was a humongous, bustling city like Hearthome. News travelled fast here. You wouldn't believe the crap I went through to prove it to them, though.

"We were just talking about when Anubis drank some of your coffee,"I told her. She gave me a bit of an annoyed look.

"Now, you shouldn't be scolding him about that,"she said, then started petting his head. He smiled widely at the affection."He had no way of knowing that it would drive him up the walls. You should've been watching him more carefully."

"Told ya,"Anubis said, smirking at me. I gave him an annoyed glare, which was stopped when Mom gave me a glare of her own. I sighed in defeat and ate my breakfast silently. Why could I never win an argument? I can always solve someone else's, but I can't win an argument to save my life! When I was done, I stood up, Anubis hopping on my shoulder. I walked into the living room and slipped on my sneakers.

"I'm headin' out, Mom! Be back later!"I shouted.

"Be careful!"she shouted back. I walked out of the house and closed the door behind me. Thanks to my goggles being shaded, I didn't have to worry about the glare of the sun. I started towards the woods. I don't know why, but coming into the woods always seemed to fill me with a mysterious feeling. Like the forest was somehow drawing me to it. Fortunately, I knew this place better than anyone, so there was no chance of getting lost. I hiked through the forest, admiring the beauty of nature and listening to the Kricketot chirping.

"Sure is peaceful, eh, Anubis?"I asked the little blue fighter. He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a large booming sound coming from deeper into the woods.

"Er, no,"he muttered..

"Aw, what now?"I asked myself angrily, running towards the sound. I had no idea whatsoever that I was running to the beginning of an adventure I would never forget.

My name is Ken Woods, and this is my story of how I saved the Pokemon world.

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End of Chapter

And so it begins. Please remember to review to tell me what you think. If it doesn't seem that good, well, like I said, I'm not good at 1st person POV's. 


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here's the second chapter.

Chapter 2:Lake Spirit Rescue

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I ran through the forest as fast as I could, Anubis right next to me. We jumped over fallen logs and ducked under brushes. Fortunately, my goggles kept anything from getting in my eyes, and Anubis was so small that he didn't have to worry about it. Eventually, we reached what I knew to be Verity Lake. We saw the source of the booming and immediately wished we hadn't. In front of us was a humongous chrome robot with a saw-blade for a left hand and a cannon for the right. We both looked at each other and gulped audibly. The massive robot turned to face us, showing a man inside a glass chamber where the robot's head should have been.

And people, I'm not exaggerating when I say he looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.

His shirt, his pants, his jacket; all of them were totally chrome. Honestly, weirdest outfit I've ever seen. Of course, who was I to judge when I wore strange clothes myself? I wore dark purple, fingerless gloves, along with a silver hooded jacket and white shirt. I had brown hair, along with blue jeans and yellow shoes. My goggles were also shaded, covering my green eyes. Yeah, I was pretty weird-looking myself. Anyway, the man was now looking at us with a scowl.

"What are you doing here, kid?"he sneered."I THOUGHT I had scared away anyone stupid enough to get in my way."I clenched my fists angrily.

"What gives you the right to go stomping around like you own the place!?"I yelled angrily. The man pointed both weapons at me.

"These,"he said darkly, charging the cannon. My eyes widened.

"Oh, crud,"I muttered. We immediately leapt out of the way of a blue energy shot, which scorched the ground we were standing at just seconds before. Man, I'm glad I was a dodge ball champ back in middle school.

"Is this guy trying to kill us!?"Anubis shouted. The man pointed the weapons at us again.

"That would be a yes,"I remarked, preparing to jump again. But before the man could fire again, there was a pokemon cry from the lake. We turned to the lake and saw none other than Mesprit, the being of Emotion rising out of the water. I saw the man grin evilly out of the corner of my eye.

"THERE you are!"he shouted, now aiming the weapons at it.

"You will NOT do any more damage to the forest OR my lake! LEAVE!"Mesprit shouted in a female voice. Weird. I thought Legendaries didn't have genders. The man obviously didn't understand her. He fired the cannon, but Mesprit had some good reflexes. She immediately flew out of the way, but the man aimed it again. This time he fired a net, unfortunately htting his mark this time.

"Okay, time to help,"I muttered. Anubis ran towards the robot as I ran to Mesprit. Fortunately for Anubis, the man now had his attention on me. Of course, for me, that was UN-fortunate.

"Eat this, you little bastard!"he said, aiming at me. Nice langauge. He fired again, but I jumped backwards as fast as I could, just BARELY dodging it, but still feeling the heat of the blast. With this distraction, Anubis managed to reach the glass covering. Still heading towards Mesprit, I saw Anubis grin and rear his fist back. He threw it forward and shattered the glass. He then began to jump around the console like a demented pogo stick, giving me time to free Mesprit.

"You okay?"I asked as I pulled off the net. She floated up to my level, shaking her head and staring at me.

"Who are you, human?"she asked, then shook her head while muttering "Mesprit, humans can't understand you. You need to remember that."

"My name is Ken, and yes, I CAN understand you,"I replied calmly. She looked at me with widened eyes.

"You...can?"she asked hesitantly. I simply nodded. She stared at me a moment longer before holding her twin tails in front of her and placing them on my forehead. In that instant, a burst of energy out of nowhere surged through me. A gasp escaped my throat and my eyes snapped shut. All the sounds around me seemed to vanish from my ears. I opened my eyes again and saw that I was floating in a strange, empty whiteness, with nothing else around. But then I began to hear multiple voices, one after another, seemingly out of nowhere. The first sounded like snickering, along with electricity crackling. The next sounded like the wind blowing, along with the sound of colossal wings beating. The next one was REALLY weird. It sounded like a child crying out in joy. For some reason, the shout sounded electronic...and insane. The next one sounded like a man chuckling in an amused tone. Finally, the last sound I heard was what could only be described as a VERY eerie and ghostly moan.

After all that, my senses seemed to come back to me all at once. I was back at Lake Verity and saw that Anubis was still toying with the man. I looked back at Mesprit and saw that she was smiling widely at me.

"What...was that?"I asked, trying to comprehend what the heck just happened. Her smile only got wider.

"You're the one,"she said. I raised an eyebrow.

"The one what?"

"AAAAAAAARRRGH!! HOLD STILL, YOU LITTLE RUNT!!"Our heads snapped back to them. Deciding that he was done messing around, he smashed his little fist into the console and jumped down, using the robot's limbs as footstools. He reached us as the console exploded and the man was knocked out. Anubis climbed back onto my shoulders, panting as the robot fell over on its back, immobile.

"Nice job,"I said, smiling at him. He sighed tiredly.

"Can I have something to eat?"he asked. Before I could answer, we heard a groan. The man slowly stood up and looked at us angrily. Wow, I figured he'd be dead from all that; or at least out cold.

"You little BASTARDS! You've ruined everything!!"He started walking towards us while pulling up his sleeves. Anubis jumped in front of me to cut him off. I looked down at him.

"Anubis, please get out of the way,"I said calmly. He gave me a very confused look, but complied. The man reached us and reared his fist back. I couldn't help but smirk. He swung forward, but tilted my head quickly, dodging the punch.

"Nice try, I suppose,"I said with a bored shrug. This only made him angrier. He swung again, but I ducked."Is that all you got?"He swung again. I sidestepped."Oh, so close."Same as before."Ooh, felt the wind that one."Rinse. Wash. Repeat."Okay, I've had about enough of this."I reared my foot back with the movement of my last dodge and then kicked him in the gut. When he doubled over in pain, I quickly struck him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

"Wow, that had to hurt,"Anubis said with a chuckle, looking at the unconcious man.

"Good job,"Mesprit told us. She then looked down the road, as if hearing something."C'mon. Some of your human vehicles are coming. Follow me."She quickly flew into the forest, the two us following. We got into the forest just as police cars arrived. Of course, I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking about all those voices I heard. Who were they? And what did Mesprit mean when she said I was "The one?" Eventually, we reached a small cave. Mesprit motioned for us to follow her. We looked at each other, shrugged and walked into the cave. We saw that it lead to a stone wall with strange writing on it. Were they Unown letters I heard about?

"Friendship,"Mesprit said, confusing us."All lives touch other lives to create something anew and alive."Then something REALLY weird happened. The wall started to collapse in on itself, revealing another tunnel. Mesprit turned and saw our jaws practically on the floor. She snickered a bit."Well, c'mon. We don't have all day."We shook our heads and looked at each other, then looked back at her.

"Hey, hold up a moment!"I said. She looked over her shoulder."WHERE exactly are we going?"She smiled again.

"To meet some friends of mine,"she said simply. Our eyes widened. She began to fly down the tunnel. Anubis and I took one last glance at each other, then ran after her at top speed. We KNEW who she meant by friends. After about 5 minutes of running, or flying in Mesprit's case, we reached what looked like a HUMONGOUS underground city."Welcome to the Hidden City of the Legendaries."

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End of chapter

R&R please.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:A Hero is Born

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Mesprit guided us through the large underground city, the two of us gaping at the colossal place as she spoke of the importance of certain buildings. There were so many buildings around, it was hard to believe she knew where she was going.

"And over there is the mess hall, as you humans would call it,"Mesprit continued her speech."After meetings, we head over there to eat and catch up over the last couple of months."

"Have you ever had any food fights?"Anubis asked. Mesprit chuckled.

"A better question would be 'When was the last time we ate in peace?'"she told us."The last time we ate together, Palkia nearly destroyed the mess hall because of a stray oran berry that Groudon had thrown. He was aiming for Kyogre, but Palkia's head got in the way, and well, let's just say the Unown, silly little rascals they are, were thoroughly enjoying the insanity that ensued after that."I raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, I didn't know the Unown were Legendary pokemon,"I said.

"Individually, they're really not that powerful,"Mesprit admitted."But when they're together, you can only imagine the chaos they can create. And I mean that literally."

"Pardon?"

"I'll explain later."

She continued to walk us through the apparently very old city, telling us about many different things, including the fact that this place was actually UNDER Mt. Coronet. If that's the case, how'd we get here so fast from Lake Verity? Anubis voiced my question to Mesprit, and she had told us that the wall we had seen was actually the entrance to a portal that lead here instantly. She said that there were portals like this in every region for the Legendaries who couldn't teleport.

"And speaking of the Legendaries, they should be here within the hour. Though I'm sure some of them are already here."

"Wait, are you telling us that you've already told them to come here?"I asked.

"That's right,"Mesprit said with a nod.

"When and how did you do that?"Anubis asked.

"Well, I'm not a Legendary psychic for nothing,"she said with a smile and a wink.

"Hmm."I mumbled, looking forward. Then, I heard the faint sound of music, clicking, and someone singing. I looked around curiously, wondering where it was coming from."Do you hear that?"

"Yeah, where's that music coming from?"Anubis asked.

"Ah, that must be some of the others in the entertainment house,"Mesprit said, tilting her head to hear. She motioned with a paw."Follow me."She then lead us into a building that was somewhat smaller than most, the music getting somewhat louder upon entry. The contents of the building are what got my attention. The first room looked like a hotel lobby. There were many couches and chairs strewn about in front of a large plasma screen TV. The only thing missing was a front desk. Mesprit lead us through a doorway to a sight we weren't expecting. There were 4 humans; at least, I think they were, standing in front of a TV, playing a video game I recognized as Guitar Hero:World Tour, playing the song Heartbreaker. Well, that explained the previous sounds. There were also three others watching them. I looked at Mesprit with a raised eyebrow.

"Guitar Hero?"I questioned.

"You humans have made some very entertaining devices."

Playing the drums was a man with flaming red hair and yellow eyes (which I found to be rather strange) who looked to be in his late twenties, wearing a red jacket with black stripes over a dark grey undershirt. He wore a pair of black jeans with reddish orange veins that looked like lava running down the legs. The guy was going pretty crazy on those drums, but I had to admit, he was good. The guitarist; I could tell because they were in the middle of a solo, and the other guy wasn't doing anything, looked to be in his early twenties, wore mostly black clothes, with the exception being a red scarf around his neck. His eyes were blue and his long hair was as white as a cloud. And he was tearing that solo to shreds!

The bassist was wearing a pair of fancy, dark blue sunglasses with pointed tips, along with mostly white clothes, two rows of blue spots lining the back of his shirt. He looked to be around thirty something and was also doing well. Finally, there was the singer. I had to say, she was rather cute. She wore a simple pink shirt and shorts. She had shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. She couldn't have been any older than thirteen. She had a heck of singing voice, though. As for the audience, the first one to catch my attention was a tall person wearing a cloak that covered most of their body, so I couldn't really make out any details other than their height. Next to this person was a girl who looked just a little older than the singer. She wore dark green jeans and a light green shirt. She had short brown hair and blue eyes. The final one was a woman in her early twenties as well. She wore a blue jacket with pink undershirt, as well as blue jeans that were lighter than her jacket. She also wore a yellow scarf, which made me wonder if she had any connection to the guitarist. As the four of them finished the song, the singer and the green clothed girl cheered.

"Yeah! 100 percent!"the pink girl said happily, punching the air above her. Had I known how to whistle, I would have. None of them got anything below 97, which was pretty impressive.

"Very nicely done,"the woman with the yellow scarf said as the two younger girls high fived.

"I can't believe I missed that one hammer-on, though,"the black clothed man said, putting his guitar against the wall.

"Yeah, well, at least you didn't miss the final note,"the man with the sunglasses said, doing the same.

"Didn't you just have to strum once?"the green girl asked.

"That's what stinks about it,"he said flatly. The drummer bellowed out a laugh.

"Aw, don't feel too bad, buddy,"he said as stood up from his chair."We all make mistakes. Even us Legendaries."Wait, what!?

"If you all are done chatting, we have new visitors,"the hooded person said in a male's voice. When they all turned to look at us, I felt Anubis shift on my shoulder, indicating his discomfort. The young girl wearing pink smiled and ran up to Mesprit, hugging her tightly.

"Good to see you, Mesprit!"she said cheerfully, then looked at me curiously.

I smiled mareepishly and waved."Um...hi?"She released Mesprit and walked up to me, standing on her toes for whatever reason. I assumed she just wanted a better look at me. I blinked at her through my goggles.

"You look funny. Who are you?"she asked after an uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Uh, my name is--"I was cut off.

"Ken Woods. Eighteen years old. Born and raised in Twinleaf Town,"the hooded man spoke calmly."And your Riolu's name is Anubis."My jaw dropped. He just read me like the friggin' newspaper! The girl looked back at him, apparently annoyed.

"Haven't I taught you not to read people's minds all the time?"she asked. The man shrugged, or at least, it looked like it. Hard to tell with that cloak he wore.

"It's not like I can help it,"he said, remaining calm."I can hear thoughts just as easily as I can hear voices."

"Then why not let them speak for themselves?"she asked. I could have sworn I saw a smirk under that hood.

"Because watching their reactions is very amusing,"he said with a slight chuckle. The girl paused at that.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I can't help but agree with you on that one,"she said, smiling a bit. Anubis and I looked at each other. Good to know they were so considerate...

"So, why are they, or us for that matter, here?"the green clothed girl asked, addressing Mesprit."You said it was urgent. Were you attacked?"The Lake Spirit nodded, then looked at the hooded man."May I?"He held his arms out and bowed his head slightly.

"Please do,"he said. Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention to the others.

"Yes, I was attacked by the Chrome Syndicate,"she said. Many of them, save the hooded man, gasped.

"What happened?"they echoed, instantly worried. Wow, were these guys that bad?

"One of them came into my lake with a giant robot,"she said."He scared away the other Pokemon and humans around and started wrecking everything. Needless to say, I got angry at what he was doing and came out of my lake. Obviously, that was a bad idea. He would have captured me if these two hadn't come along."She motioned to us, earning us interested looks from them."Come to think of it, how did you come across my lake?"

I shrugged."We were just walking through the forest when we heard all the booming and shaking. So, we ran to see it what it was. And well, the rest is history."Mesprit shook her head.

"Hardly,"she told us."You saved my life. You have no idea how cruel the Chrome Syndicate can be. After draining my power, they most likely would have tortured me to death."I blinked in surprise. I wasn't expecting that.

"So, what exactly did you do?"the fire themed man asked us."How did the two of you stop a giant robot on your own?"I scratched my head.

"Well, Anubis here did most of the work,"I said, jabbing a thumb at the little guy on my shoulder."I just freed Mesprit from the net."

"But you did knock the guy out after he tried to hit you a bunch of times, remember?"Anubis asked me. I nodded.

"True, true,"I said in agreement. When I looked back at the group, they were staring with wide eyes. Even the cloaked man seemed to pause in surprise.

"Did...did you just understand what he said?"the man wearing sunglasses asked hesitantly. I nodded. They all looked at Mesprit instantly. She nodded, as if to answer an unspoken question.

"I believe so,"she said softly. They looked back at me. Then, without warning, all but the red haired man and the one with sunglasses began to glow with light. I would have shielded my eyes if I weren't wearing goggles; plus I was pretty much frozen in place with shock. When the glowing stopped, my jaw dropped a mile and I felt Anubis fall from my shoulder. Standing, or rather, floating, in front of us were 5 pokemon. Two of them I recognized instantly as the Lunar Pokemon, Cresselia and Darkria, previously the scarf wearing people. Green clothed girl had transformed into a small, green fairy like creature. I believed this was Celebi, the Guardian of the forest. The pink wearing girl had turned into a small, pink, cat-like creature, with a tail that was actually a bit longer than it's actual body. Wow, I was looking at Mew! Finally, the cloaked man had turned into one of the strangest creatures I had ever seen. It had a slight resemblance to Mew. It's mostly white body had a long, purple tail, a tube going from in between its shoulders to the back of it's head, and three ball-like fingers on each hand. I had no idea who this guy was. I pulled my goggles down, squinting my eyes as I did so. I breathed into both lenses and wiped them with my shirt, then put them back over my eyes, seeing that they were still the Legendaries I thought I had imagined.

I looked at the remaining two who hadn't transformed.

After a moment, I found my voice."A-and...who are you...?"

"I am Lugia, Guardian of the Sea,"the man with sunglasses said.

"And I'm the continent Pokemon, Groudon,"the red man said, jabbing a thumb at his chest.

"Huh,"I breathed, still shocked at what I had just seen. I held my head."I need to sit down."Groudon then grabbed the chair he had been using for drumming and brought it over to me. I quickly dropped into the chair, not caring that I nearly fell off. I spared a glance at Anubis, who was staring at Mew. She floated down and sat in front of him.

"Hi,"she said.

"...Hello,"he said hesitantly.

"Wanna see something cool?"

"...Okay."Mew closed her eyes and glowed. When it stopped, our jaws dropped again. She had just turned into another Riolu!

"Whaddaya think?"she asked with a grin.

"Cool..."Anubis awed.

"Told ya,"she said, then transformed back in an instant.

"What else can you do?"Anubis asked. Mew's grin widened.

"I'm glad you asked!"she said cheerily. Suddenly, a pink bubble of energy formed behind her. She flew back and started bouncing up and down on it. Anubis stared with interest.

"Can I try?"he asked hopefully. Another bubble formed next to the original.

"Knock yourself out!"Mew said, still bouncing.

"Awesome!"Anubis cheered, jumping onto the bubble and bouncing as well."Woohoo!"I couldn't help but smile, then I looked at the TV. They had forgotten to turn the game off. I shrugged and stood up, walking over to where the guitars were, picking one up and slinging the strap over my shoulder.

"What are you doing?"Darkria asked.

"If he's found a way to cope with what's going on, I might as well do the same,"I said, adjusting the strap. When I was satisfied with it, I turned the guitar on, looking through the list of songs. Finally, I decided on Livin' on a Prayer, one of my favorite songs for this game. I chose the song and hit the bass option, then expert.

"You prefer bass to guitar?"Lugia asked, to which I nodded.

"I'm not sure why,"I admitted as the loading screen disappeared."I'm a decent singer, too. But I can't sing this because my voice is too deep."The song started, my fingers started moving across the buttons quickly. I absolutely loved this bass intro. When I heard the drums start up, I closed my eyes, continuing to play. As the lyrics started, I heard someone whistle.

"He's playing with his eyes closed,"one of the girls said. Maybe Celebi...

"He must have already played this song quite a bit,"another commented, sounded like Darkria.

"I have,"I told them, then scowled as I heard a weird twang, indicating I had missed a note."Da--Blast it..."I quickly censored myself, thinking that they might frown upon cursing.

I heard a deep laugh. Was that Groudon?"Kid, just because we're Legendary pokemon, it doesn't mean we don't swear like sailors sometimes."

"True, even the most subdued of us have cursed from time to time,"I heard Mesprit say.

"I see."I growled as I heard another twang.

"We'll be quiet, now,"Cresselia said. I continued to play the song. Halfway in, I heard the sound of someone either leaving or entering the room. It was verified to be someone entering when a new voice spoke up.

"Hey, guys! What's going--?"

"Ssshhh!"I heard the others shush. I heard the distinct sound of whispering after that, but didn't bother deciphering any of it, too focused on the song. Finally, I finished and opened my eyes, smirking at the very nice 95 percent on the screen. I blushed slightly when I heard applause. I turned around to see a new pokemon in the room. It had light blue skin, and the top of it's head was a darker blue, along with a two tails and yellow eyes. If my studies were correct, this was Azelf, the being of willpower. He stared back at me with a raised eyebrow.

"So, you think this guy might be the one?"he asked the others, who nodded. Anubis jumped onto my shoulder as I tilted my head. That was the second person who's called me that. Before I could question him, the building suddenly shook.

"Uhh, yeah, most of the others are here,"Azelf said."And it sounds like some of them have met."

"Oh, dear,"Cresselia said, sounding worried.

"Are the Unown here, yet?"Mesprit asked. Then, as if on cue, we heard many child-like voices singing in unison.

"Uuuuuuunoooooooooooowwwwwnn!"

"Does that answer your question?"Darkria asked. They started filing out of the room quickly, practically leaving the two of us in the dust.

"Hey, wait up!"I shouted, running after them. When we reached them outside the building, we were greeted with a peculiar sight. Two dragon like creatures were floating high in the air, not too far away from where we were, staring each other down. Flying around them erratically were strange, small black and white creatures. I assumed these were the Unown, and that the dragons were the dieties of space and time, Palkia and Dialga. There were also a number of other Legendary Pokemon, from Jirachi to Ho-oh, the Bird Trio, the Beast Trio, the Regis, and even Rayquaza and Deoxys! They were all around us! Granted, I didn't recognize all of them, but I didn't have to to know I was surrounded by powerful beings.

"This is not good,"Darkria muttered, referring to the two feuding dragons.

"Darkria, you've fought them before, can't you do something?"Mew asked.

"The last time the three of us fought, I was nearly killed,"Darkria said flatly. I stared up at the two dragons, deep in thought.

"How about you, Mewtwo?"Mew asked the strange creature I didn't recognize. So, that was his name."I mean, next to Arceus, you're one of the most powerful of all of us."

Mewtwo shook his head."I may be powerful enough to defeat them, but if I tried, we could destroy the entire city, if not all of Mount Coronet. I can't fight them and protect the city at the same time. Besides, the last thing I need is those two hounding me for revenge."My eyes widened. This guy was more powerful than those two combined!?

Shaking my head, I looked back up."I don't suppose there's a Milotic hanging around, eh?"I asked, earning myself strange looks. I shrugged."I've heard somewhere that a Milotic's singing is relaxing enough to calm down a raging Gyarados. Maybe it could calm them down as well?"They looked amongst themselves, apparently finding the idea interesting.

"It doesn't matter, anyway,"another voice spoke. We turned around to see yet another Legendary Pokemon. Uxie, the Being of Knowledge. For whatever reason, his eyes were closed as he floated up to us. If the school books were any indication, he could wipe people's memories clean by looking at their eyes, so it would make sense that he would keep them closed. He turned his head to me, nodded, and looked back up.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?"Mew asked, eyebrow raised as the two dragons flew back.

"They will calm in less than a moment,"Uxie said as they charged their attacks."3...2...1..."

"Stop,"said a voice so powerful, it nearly dropped me to my knees. The two dragons froze in place, their attacks vanishing in an instant. The Unown flying around them froze as well. We all looked to the source, and standing in the gate of the largest tower was...

Arceus. The Alpha Pokemon and God of our world.

My heart skipped a beat upon seeing the great being.

"H-holy..."I muttered.

"That would be the word for it,"Mesprit said quietly. The white being flew up to the two of them, the two dragons bowing their head instantly.

"Tell me, my sons,"Arceus started."Do you know why we're here?"They seemed to look at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

"No, sir,"they said in unison.

"Come,"Arceus said simply, flying straight towards us. The dragons followed instantly. They landed in front of us, staring directly at me. At that moment, I felt like less than a Caterpie."We are here because of this human and his young friend."The dragons gave me strange looks. I smiled nervously. Arceus raised his head."Everyone. Come to the meeting tower."He smiled back down at me."That includes you."

"Y-y-yes, sir,"I stuttered. He flew off, the dragons flanking his sides. I let out a shaky breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Don't worry, kid. You get used to it after a while,"Groudon informed me, now back in his actual form.

"I hope so,"I muttered."I'm surprised I didn't pass out..."

"C'mon, let's get going,"Cresselia said. We began to move along with the crowd of Legendary Pokemon, all of them giving me interested looks, some going so far as to introduce themselves. I just kept my hood over my head, muttering replies as politely as I could, still somewhat overwhelmed by all the attention. I HATED being the center of attention. Though I had to admit, this _was_ exciting. I mean, who else got to meet the Legendaries like this? Well, sure, there was that one kid from Kanto who kept popping up in the news a few years back, but this was different.

"Ken. Ken Woods,"I told the latest Pokemon who had asked for my name. Anubis was currently talking with Mew just a few feet ahead of us.

"I'm Latios,"the blue and white dragon told me. He motioned to a red dragon that looked surprisingly like him."This is my sister, Latias."I nodded at her.

"H-hi,"she said somewhat nervously."So...you can really understand us?"I nodded again.

"That's right,"I said."When I was young, I figured everyone could understand pokemon since I could."I looked towards the large tower."You can only imagine my surprise when I learned otherwise. Most kids never really liked me. Always thought I was a freak. Heh. The only friends I've ever had were Pokemon, and my mom. But she's family, so I guess she doesn't necessarily count."Latios patted my back.

"Well, I hope we can be friends in the future,"he said with a smile. Latias nodded fervently in agreement.

"M-me too!"she said.

"Probably,"I agreed."I have to admit, I really trust pokemon more than I trust my own race."Their eyes widened as they looked at each other. Obviously, I had caught them by surprise."Sad, ain't it?"They said nothing in response. I decided to change the subject."So, I heard you two can become invisible at will. Is that true?"They smiled and nodded, then disappeared on the spot. I blinked."Nice."They reappeared."How exactly do you do that?"

"Our downs can refract light away from us whenever we want,"Latios said. I raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting...I guess that means you can't make others invisible,"I muttered, stroking my chin.

"Nope,"Latios said.

"Most others ask us if we _can_ make them invisible,"Latias told me."How did you know we can't?"

"Well, I figured at first that you used your psychic powers to perform photokinesis,"I told them. Their eyes widened; I guess at my slight show of knowledge."But since you're using your coats to do it, you can't refract light away from other people, so..."I shrugged, figuring they understood what I meant.

"How did you figure that out?"Latios asked, his surprise out in the open.

"You must've gotten really good grades in your human school,"Latias guessed. I shook my head.

"Eh, I just passed like any other student,"I said, surprising them again."I just never found the motivation to try that hard since no one respects me anyway."They blinked."I'll tell you more later. Cause, uh, here we are."They looked around in surprise, seeing that we were already inside the massive tower. They looked at me strangely."So, where am I supposed to go?"Latios shook his head, then pointed to the center of the room, where a large circle of runes were formed. Anubis was already sitting right outside of it, having just said good bye to Mew. They both flew up to a higher balcony, and I joined Anubis at the circle, sitting in it rather than next to it. Arceus was just above the other Legendaries--damn, he looked big from here--and staring down at us.

"Please stand, Ken,"he said. I did so immediately."Now, have you been told of our situation?"

"Well, not entirely,"I admitted, surprising myself with how calm I sounded in the face of a god."But from what I've gathered, you're fighting some evil organization called the Chrome Syndicate, who're trying to capture you all for whatever reason. And as for me, I'm guessing I'm some sort of...ancient, prophesized hero or something who's supposed to help you take them down because I can understand Pokemon. Do I have it down or did I just read everything completely wrong?"There were a few chuckles at that.

"You are correct,"Arceus said with a nod."Can you guess what they are after?"

"Ah, I'm going to guess the average thing evil organizations try to do, which is take over the world with your powers,"I deduced. He nodded again. I chuckled."I'm on a roll, here."

"But that is not the only thing they wish for,"Arceus said."They intend on irradicating all pokemon from the planet."I heard Anubis gasp behind me, and made no joke at this revelation. I stared, having some futile hope that he was joking.

After a moment, I shook my head and frowned deeply, holding a hand to my forehead."Just when I thought people couldn't get any stupider."Why was I a member of such a stupid race? I looked back up."I'm going to guess that they want to do this because they think you'll do it to us first, right?"Arceus nodded once more. I sighed."Sometimes, it's sucks to be this smart..."

"This is why we need your help,"Arceus said."Because of your ability, you are the bridge in the gap between our races. You are meant to save the world from destruction. Will you help us?"I hesitated at this.

"...Are you absolutely sure I'm the one you want?"I asked."I mean, look at this."I pulled my coat sleeve up, showing my rather skinny arms."These aren't muscles. These are bones with sleeves."Another round of laughs followed that. I rolled my sleeve back up."I mean, sure my IQ's in the triple digits, but I don't really think I'm hero material."

"You're humility certainly seems to be worthy of a hero,"he said. I shrugged.

"What you call humility, I call a lack of self-confidence mixed in with a tiny smidge of self-loathing,"I remarked, holding my fingers together for emphasis. Then I held a hand to my chin, thinking."Then again, that might just be coming from all the insults I've gone through, and I'm most likely just thinking this way simply because I've never felt myself worthy of too much. I wonder if perhaps--"I shook my head, snapping myself to attention."That's another thing. I think too much, never really act. Most hero's think on their feet, which I'm not to sure that I'm good at."I looked down in thought again."Though, I suppose most hero's probably just learn that particular ability. I mean, nobody's really born--I'M DOING IT AGAIN!"I sighed loudly and slapped my forehead, exasperated at myself. I looked up, seeing them look like they were about to burst into laughing fits at my display. I rolled my eyes."Go ahead and laugh. I'm used to it."Surprisingly, none did. I looked back up at Arceus.

"If you can realize your own faults that easily, then believe me when I say that it's humility. Nothing more, nothing less,"he said."So...what is your answer?"

I crossed my arms and looked over my shoulder, looking at Anubis, who nodded fervently, a determined look in his eyes like I had never seen before. Nodding back, I looked back up at Arceus, smirking slightly.

"Well, this sure as hell beats a video game any day of the week."I said, cracking my neck in ways most people would have to see a doctor about. I pulled my goggles off my eyes, letting them rest on my forehead."You've got yourself a deal."The Legendaries cheered at this. Arceus smiled and nodded.

"Thank you,"he said, then looked amongst the other Legendaries, who nodded at him. They all closed their eyes and began to give off a faint glow. I looked through them curiously, then back at Arceus.

"Uh, what's going on?"

"Don't worry,"Arceus told me."We will be granting you a powerful gift. Anubis, please back away from the circle."I looked over my shoulder at the little blue fighter, who quickly did as he was told. Suddenly, many different colored metal plates started appearing around me in a circle over the now glowing runes. I counted seventeen in all. The plates themselves then began to glow in their respective colors. When they got just a little too bright for me, I put my goggles back on. Then I couldn't help but ask.

"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so."

The lights shot out of the plates and into me. I couldn't help but let out a shout of pain as the different energies surged through me. Pain wracked every nerve ending of my body. Knowledge began to form in my brain that I had never known before. Then I felt..._something _began to form over my body. My eyes were clenched shut, so I couldn't tell what it was. Then, just like that, the pain stopped. It was over just as fast as it had started.

"Ken...You look awesome!"I heard Anubis say ecstatically. I looked down at myself, seeing that I was covered in strange, skin tight armor that was completely white. I could feel a helmet on my head, and I assumed it was to hide my face. The armor almost felt like a second skin. I waved my fingers a bit, then clenched my fists. The armor didn't seem to hinder my movement in the slightest. I opened my hand again, seeing that there was now a small fire ball in it!

"HOLY CRAP!!"I shouted, frantically tossing the fire ball from hand to hand while shouting "HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!" But then I stopped. It...didn't burn. I could feel the heat through the gauntlets on my hand, but it didn't hurt like it should have. I stared at it, incredibly confused by the fact that I was now holding something well above two thousand degrees like it was just a ball...

I heard laughter above me, and looked up to see many of the Legendaries were _now_ laughing at me. I couldn't help but feel more than a little annoyed at this, but at least some of them were nice enough to hold it in. A few of them were actually somewhat worried about me, thinking that I might be hurt. Wait, how did I know that!?

I looked up at Arceus, clapping the fire ball between my hands to put it out, he was one of the few who weren't laughing.

"Can you please explain what just happened?"I asked as calmly as I could.

"The plates you saw were infused with the power of the elements,"he explained."I created them back when I had first created this very planet. The power of those plates are now yours to help you fight our enemies. Use it wisely."I nodded as he spoke, then looked through the powerful creatures again.

"Does this mean I have a small bit of power from each of you?"Arceus shook his head.

"No, they simply used their power to transfer the power of the plates to you. That's it."Arceus explained.

"So, basically, I've become a natural disaster waiting to happen?"I asked as Anubis hopped back on my shoulder. He nodded.

"I suppose that's one way of putting it,"he said."But don't worry. You'll learn to control these powers soon. Just as long you don't abuse them. Too much."We both smirked a bit at that. I was starting like him more and more.

"So, what do I do, now?"I asked.

"First, I want you to return home for the moment, to tell your mother of these events,"he said. I hesitated at that.

"You want me to tell her what just happened?"I asked, not understanding."Whatever happened to a hero's secret identity?"

"You are about to embark on a journey to save the planet, your mother must understand why,"he told me."She must be the only person to know of this. You are not to tell another human being."I nodded in agreement.

"That's understandable,"I said."But what about telling other pokemon?"Arceus smiled at my question.

"You won't really have to,"he informed me."Any pokemon will be able to sense the power within you. Just ask Anubis."I looked at the Riolu on my shoulder, who shrugged.

"Well, yeah, I can feel something coming from you, but I figured that was just my Aura sense acting up,"he told me.

"Interesting,"I remarked.

"Mesprit will accompany you home,"Arceus said."After which, you are to return here to start some training."He looked at Mesprit."Is that acceptable?"The Lake Spirit nodded.

"Of course,"she said.

"Okay, one more question,"I said, gathering their attention."...Can I fly?"

"Of course,"he said."You've been infused with the power of the Sky Plate, but--Hmm?"I was already running to the entrance, Anubis having jumped off my shoulder in surprise. When I reached the stairs, I jumped up as high as I could. Gravity's hold broke, and I took off into the air.

"YEAH, BABY!!"I shouted, flying around as fast as I could. I saw Anubis and the Legendaries gather around the door. How they all fitted around that doorway, I'll never know. I flew by to greet them, but instead of stopping like I had intended, I just shot right past them."What the--? HOW DO I STOP?!?"I was worried now, I obviously hadn't thought about this.

"I tried to warn you,"Arceus' voice echoed in my head."You need to train before you can fully control your new abilities. Also, look out for that building."I quickly turned to avoid crashing headfirst into a wall. It was then that Mew and Celebi flew next to me, flanking my sides. While Celebi was twirling around gracefully, Mew was upside down as she kicked her big feet like she was swimming. Both of them smiled playfully as I ducked and weaved through the buildings, desperately trying not to crash and severely injure myself.

"I don't suppose-whoa!-either of you-Yeesh!-know how I can stop!? OH CRUD!!"I quickly pulled a u-turn before crashing into a rock wall. They easily followed my every move.

"It couldn't be any easier!"Mew said cheerily."Just imagine yourself on the ground. That's it!"I looked down and did so without thinking.

"Wait, you have to-!!"Celebi started, but was too late. Gravity took effect immediately, and I fell to the ground with a painful thud, landing flat on my face. I turned onto my back and watched, dazed, as they flew down to me, the pretty starries floating around them.

"Are you okay?"Mew asked. Slowly, and painfully, I raised my head.

"Owchies,"I muttered, then let my head hit the ground again, staring up at the incredibly high ceiling of the city. This should've hurt much worse than it did, but for whatever reason, the pain was already starting to go away. Maybe it was my new powers at work, but I didn't really care at the moment. I heard what sounded like a stampede heading our way, assuming that it was the Legendaries. I stood up as they reached us and the pain left my body numb. I grinned mareepishly as they stared."Well, any crash you can walk away from is a good one, right?"Many eyes were rolled. Anubis then poked out of the crowd and ran up to me. I held my arm out and let him jump on my shoulder.

"You okay?"he asked.

"Sure, the ground broke my fall,"I remarked sarcastically, actually managing some laughs from the Legendaries.

XXXX

Later, I had arrived back at my house. Mesprit was now invisible, though I could still detect where she was, most likely because of my new psychic powers. The armor I was wearing was gone now, and I was back in my regular clothes.

"Mom! I'm home!"I shouted, closing the door behind me after making sure Mesprit was inside. My mom came into the room with a smile.

"Well, that was a long walk,"she said as Anubis jumped down from my shoulder. I raised an eyebrow.

"How long was I gone?"

"Honey, it's 12 o'clock."

"SAY WHAT!?"I asked, my eyes darting to the clock to see that it was in fact, 12:00 on the dot."Dang, that took longer than I thought..."I rubbed my head.

"What did?"Mom asked curiously. I took a deep breath.

"I, uh, I got...sidetracked..."I muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from her."Mom, I'd like you to meet someone."

"Did you save another pokemon?"

"...Yes. Yes, I did."I looked to where Mesprit was floating and nodded. She slowly became visible, causing Mom to gasp."Mom, say hello to Mesprit."

"Oh my goodness!"she shouted, obviously shocked."The Legendary Spirit of Lake Verity!?"I nodded.

"You might want to sit down..."I muttered."I've got a heck of a story to tell you."

XXXX

After I had gotten done explaining the situation, Mom was in a state of shock, dazed on the couch.

"I...This...this is incredible,"she said after a moment.

"You took the words right out of my mouth,"I told her, my head rested on my chin as she processed everything I had just told her. I didn't need psychic powers to tell how amazed she was. She sighed deeply, trying to regain her composure.

"I always knew you were special, son,"she said, standing up."But I never suspected something like this."

"Tsk, who would?"I asked rhetorically, standing up myself.

"Well, I guess you should get going,"she said quietly."I'll miss you."Anubis hopped from my shoulder and into her arms, nuzzling her neck."Of course, I'll miss you, too, Anubis."She hugged him tightly. I kept silent.

"We should go,"Mesprit said softly. I nodded in agreement.

XXXX

End of chapter

Wow, this is absolutely, without a doubt, the longest chapter I have ever written.


	4. Chapter 4

Can I have a review to tell me how I'm doing, please?

Chapter 4:The Elemental Trials, Part 1

The week after my departure could be considered both pure heaven and total hell. I loved mastering all these new powers I had, creating weapons out of different elements, having my strength and reflexes increased beyond any normal human's limits, and even increasing my resistance against the heat and cold. Of course, my training wasn't what one would call pain-free. Mewtwo had made sure of that. He had good intentions, I could tell; but his training was viscious! I'll be damned if he didn't increase my pain threshold, though.

Right now, I was resting in the entertainment room, playing Green Grass and High Tides with Darkria, Groudon, and Deoxys, all of us on expert. Okay, technically, THEY were playing it. I was the singer. Even with my enhanced reflexes, I doubt I could have lasted too long on bass. Then again, I haven't actually tried. Eh, maybe some other time.

"Daaaaaammmnnn,"I muttered as Darkria finished the second solo and we went into the finale. I simply breathed into the mike as the others went Primeape on their instruments and eventually hit their final notes. Our scores appeared on the screen.

"96, not bad,"Deoxys said, admiring his own score. His human form consisted of a red shirt with blue stripes on the sleeves and a pair of regular blue jeans. A small, blue, and rounded jewel hung from his neck on a string. I had learned that it wasn't the actual jewel that was normally in his chest, he just thought it looked good. I had to say, it actually went well with his attire.

"Dude...how the hell did you 100 percent that?"I asked Darkria, who smirked.

"I guess I just have a natural talent,"he said with a shrug. I looked back at the screen, noticing I had gotten 95.

"Your percentage is pretty good, too,"Groudon commented."Not as good as my 97, but still pretty good."

"Eh,"I muttered, not bothering to point out the arrogance in his voice."I just wish I could keep up with the rythm of the..."I paused and closed my eyes, trying to think."Clapping...thing..."I hit my hand on the mic, trying to demonstrate what I meant.

"Tambourine,"I heard Deoxys say. I pointed a hand at him.

"Thank you."It was then that I heard a familiar voice in my head.

"Please report to the meeting tower,"Arceus voiced politely, and that was it.

'That was short,'I couldn't help but think, then looked to the other three, who were looking amongst themselves."Hey, guys, I have to--"

"We know,"Darkria said calmly. He and Deoxys returned to their normal forms as Groudon stood up."Us too."

"Oh,"I said. Obviously, it didn't occur to me that he had called all of us."Well, then. See ya there."They nodded. Darkria sunk into the ground as Deoxys flew out, Groudon running after him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I floated off the ground and rose to the ceiling, phasing through it with my not-so-new ghost powers. As I flew towards the large tower, I met up with Mew and the Latis. Anubis was sitting on Latios' back.

"Hey, Ken,"the blue dragon said to me. I waved in response.

"'Sup?"I asked, floating on my back.

"Not much,"Latios said.

"What do you suppose Arceus wants?"Latias asked.

"Probably something to do with me,"I muttered with a shrug."The whole damn week has been about me. This shouldn't be much different."I looked towards the tower.

"True,"Mew said as the Latis nodded."But why do you hate being the center of attention so much?"

"Because when everyone was paying attention to me back in school, it was something bad. Nobody really liked me too much,"I muttered. I sensed what felt like a lot of suspicion coming from them, and looked back to see them giving me strange looks, all except for Anubis, who seemed to be somewhat nervous. Even HE knew where this was going...

"And why is that?"Mew asked, the usual cheer in her voice absent.

"Because I could talk to Pokemon,"I told them flatly, flipping rightside-up. Their eyes widened, then they looked down and away from me. I could sense that they were feeling rather shameful now. Dammit, should have just kept my mouth shut. Why can't I learn to control myself!?

I looked away as well."...Sorry..."I muttered."I just don't know what to say sometimes, since I don't have much in the way of social grace."

"No, it's our fault. We're sorry,"Mew said sadly, the Latis nodding silently."We shouldn't have been suspicious. You're a good person."I faltered in my flight after hearing that.

"Are you alright?"Latias asked worriedly as I straightened up.

"Did-did you just apologize to me...?"I asked, feeling rather confused. They looked backed at me with raised eyebrows.

"Um, yeah, what's wrong?"Latios asked.

I paused for a moment."Nobody's ever apologized to me before..."I admitted. They blinked at me. I laughed bitterly."Pokemon ARE better than humans."I looked forward with narrowed eyes, not meeting thier gaze."You're stronger, smarter, and all around more compassionate than any human I've ever met. We're such a stupid race..."They said nothing after that.

We reached the tower, the four of us flying down to go through the doorway. I wanted to just phase through the wall instead, but I stopped myself, remembering not to abuse my power too much. No telling what could happen if I got out of control with them. Anubis jumped down next to me right after I landed, walking to the center of the circle just like last time. I looked up at the Alpha Pokemon, not nearly as nervous as the first time. Looks like Groudon was right after all...

"How are you feeling, Ken?"he asked.

I shrugged."Pretty good, I suppose. Certainly better than when I first got here."He nodded.

"Do you know why we're here?"

"I can't read you're mind, so no, I probably don't,"I said honestly."I do have a question, though."

"Oh?"

"Why is it that all this power hasn't driven me insane?"I asked."I mean, sure, I'm the chosen one, but this kind of power would normally drive a person bonkers in a matter of hours! Why not me?"

"Simple,"Arceus told me."Mostly the same reason you are able to talk to our species. When you were conceived, your DNA formed in such a way that, while still human, it was also very similar to the DNA that allows pokemon to harbor their power."My eyes widened.

"_Really_?"I asked, intrigued."I figured magic had something to do with it, not science."He smiled.

"Who's to say it wasn't magic that formed your DNA?"he asked. I just blinked wordlessly."While many believe that magic and science can't co-exist, the two can work in ways that most mortals could never imagine."

I tilted my head."Interesting..."I muttered, then remembered a part of what he said."Wait, you said 'mostly.' Is there another reason?"He looked at me with a somewhat mareepish expression.

"Well, it's partially because your brain is rather large for a human's, and, well..."he paused for a moment."You're already somewhat insane." Anubis and the Legendaries started snickering. I probably shoud have felt offended, but...

"You know, I honestly can't disagree with that,"I muttered slowly. I shook my head, putting it behind me for the moment."So, what exactly are we here for?"His expression became a bit more serious.

"It is time for your...'Final Exams', so to speak,"he told me. His eyes glowed for a moment, then a shimmering portal appeared in front of me."Through this portal, you will be tested in a number of different ways."I raised an eyebrow.

"Would you care to elaborate?"I asked. He smirked slightly.

"Not really,"he said. I rolled my eyes, then nodded and cracked my neck.

"Fine,"I said, pulling goggles over my eyes.

"Good luck, buddy!"I heard Anubis say. I walked into the portal.

XXXX

The light was blinding, even with my goggles. I would probably hate it if I had to go without them.

And what should happen next, you ask? Why, my clothes replaced themselves with my armor, of course.

AWESOME.

Fortunately for my eyes, the light quickly replaced itself with a grassy field that looked very peaceful.

"Nice..."I muttered under my breath. I blinked once, sensing someone near me. But before I could look, a voice spoke.

"Too bad it's not real."I looked down to see Shaymin staring out at the field as well.

"So, it's an illusion?"I asked. She nodded and looked up at me.

"Have a seat,"she said, taking a few steps back from me. I took her offer and sat down cross legged.

"So, what's my first test, ma'am?"I asked. She laughed a bit.

"No need for formalities, Ken,"she said."You should know that by now."I shrugged.

"Well, you _are_ the great healer and one of my teachers, so I just wanted to be polite,"I told her. She shook her head, still smiling.

"Great healer, where do you humans come up with these names?"she said."Alright, you're first test. As you can probably tell, I am giving your grass test."

"Naturally,"I said.

"Now tell me, what does grass represent in terms of life?"she asked. I blinked at this, the brought a hand to my chin. Let's see...how does grass relate to life? Well, grass is sedentary and stays in one place, so it can't represent moving forward. Grass is always the same and never really changes during growth, so it can't represent...

Wait a minute, that's it!

"Growth!"I said with grin. She raised an eyebrow.

"Explain, please,"she said.

"Well, grass, like trees and other plants, are always growing, they don't do much else,"I said."But growing and maturing is very important to life. Without either, well..."I shrugged."We can't really expect to do much with ourselves. If we can't grow, we can't evolve and better ourselves. Might as well be dead."She smiled.

"That's right, if not somewhat morbid,"she said with a chuckle."You've passed your first test. But you've still got plenty more to go."Another portal appeared to our right.

"Lovely,"I remarked with a rueful smile, standing up and stretching. I walked towards it, but paused and looked back at her."I don't suppose I can get my goggles back, eh?"She shook her head.

"Sorry,"she said. I sighed and turned, walking into the portal."Good luck!"I heard her shout.

XXXX

I blinked in surprise, looking back and forth. I was now underwater, in what looked like an endless sea. I looked up, but didn't even see the surface. I was surprised there was any light down here.

"I'm going guess this is the water test,"I muttered. Fortunately, I had gained the ability to breathe underwater, so I didn't have to worry about drowning any time soon.

"Hi, Ken!"a small voice behind me shouted. I turned around and saw Manaphy swimming towards me, a couple of Phione flanking him."Are you ready for your next test?"

"Sure, let 'er rip,"I said.

"Alright, what is the nature of water?"Manaphy asked. I raised an eyebrow and looked down.

"Hmm,"I mumbled. Alright, water can be used for a lot of things. Powering electrical devices, drinking, bathing, swimming, but I doubt that's what he wants to hear. In a natural environment, water can be in all three forms of matter, depending on the environment itself, so it could be something like adapting. Nah. Water never stays the same. It's always changing between solid, liquid, and gas, so...

I snapped my fingers as an idea came to me."I've got it! The nature of water is change!"I think I saw Manaphy try to hide a smile.

"Go on,"he pressed.

"Water is capable of taking three forms: liquid, solid, and gas, which is more than can be said for most other things,"I started."As a liquid, water flows and gives life and death to all living creatures, depending on how much of it there is. Aquatic Pokemon live in it and make their homes there, while land creatures use it as a source of nourishment and energy.

When it reaches a certain cold temperature, though, water freezes, turning into ice. Some creatures are capable of surviving in this cold, and can use the ice as a source of water, but it's alot more difficult because of the seriously cold temperatures. Due to this cold, life that grows on the ice is tough and hardy, alot like the Sneasel family and other ice types, because they always have to search for more food due to the scarcity, again due to the extreme temperatures. Just like liquid water, the ice supports life, though in smaller quantities and different ways."

"And?"Manaphy asked, tilting his head.

"I was getting there,"I said calmly. "Finally, water can become a gas when heated up enough. It can become steam, or just water vapor, depending on the temperature."I shrugged and continued."And while no life can really thrive on this gas, the evaporated water contributes in some extent to the planet's atmosphere, allowing all creatures to continue breathing it instead of... well, sucking on the vacuum of deep space."I shuddered a bit after saying that."And once that vapor reaches a certain point in the air, where the temperature has cooled again, the vapor condenses into water and falls as rain, nourishing plants and giving water back to the world. And while this rain _can_ cause floods if there's too much of it, in the right quantities it continues to support life. Water in all its forms is a giver of life and a bringer of death, I suppose, and that's its nature, just like change. Water is capable of using its life-giving properties in just about every form, whether it's a liquid, solid, or gas. Water's nature is change, just like…"I blinked, realizing something."Just like life itself, isn't it? Water can be seen as a metaphor for life!"

"You _are _smart!"Manaphy said, grinning widely. Another portal appeared."Keep that up and you'll be done in no time!"

"Thanks,"I said with a nod, then swam (underwater, remember?) through the portal.

XXXX

The next place was...weird. Really weird. I was floating in a strange world of shifting, psychodelic colors. And floating in circles around me were the Unown. Aw, crap. These guy's were scary. They always acted very childish. They were incredibly smart, though. It seemed that the only person who knew more than them was Uxie, which made sense, when you think about it.

"Hi!"they all sang. Yes, for some reason, whenever they spoke, they sung, which I found to be rather freaky sometimes.

"...Where are we?"I asked, believing I wouldn't like the answer.

"This is our hooooome!"

Ten points for me.

"This place looks like the middle of a drug trip,"I said blandly.

"That's why we like it!"they sang happily. I shuddered. These guys could give me worse nightmares than Darkria ever could...

"So, what test are you guys giving me?"I asked, trying to stay calm, or at least, sound calm.

"We're giving you the bug test!"they sang."We picked it ourseeeeelves!"I raised an eyebrow, then snapped my fingers in realization.

"Oh, I get it. It's because you're a hive mind, right?"I asked with a smile.

"Nope!"they sang."Dialga and Palkia and all the other big guys call us bugs all the time, so we picked it!"I sweatdropped.

"I...see,"I muttered, wishing I could back away from them. But since they were all around me, that wasn't really an option at the moment."Well, let's get it over with."

"Okay!"they sang. For a moment, nothing, then the Unown seemed to blink into different places. I shook my head once.

"What the-?"I muttered.

"Congratulations! You passed!"they sang out. I blinked.

"But...I didn't do anything,"I said, very confused.

"Yeah, you did!"they sang."We just erased your memory of it!"

"...Why?"I asked.

"Arceus told us our test disturbed you aaaalot,"they sang."So, he asked us to erase your memory of iiiiiiit."I paused.

"...That really doesn't surprise me,"I muttered, then saw a portal appear below my feet.

"Bye!"they sang. Without warning, I dropped like a stone and shouted as I fell through the portal.

XXXX

The next area was almost as strange as the last. I was standing on a large rock floating in the middle of dimly lit world. It seemed that everywhere I looked, dark, grey mists would be there. There were rocks floating around me in random places and shapes, dotting the strange darkness.

"Hello, Ken,"a voice said from seemingly nowhere. If it weren't for my psychic senses, I wouldn't of known where that was coming from. I looked up to see Giratina in her origin form, drifting down and stopping in front of me.

"Ghost test?"I asked.

"That's right,"she said with a nod.

"Alright, then,"I said."Let's hear it."

"You are aware of how ghosts very much like to scare mortals, do you not?"she asked. I nodded."Tell me, other than that, what other reason could mortals be fearful of spirits?"I crossed my arms and looked down in thought.

"Well, there's the fact that people always _expect_ ghosts to scare them,"I said, then looked back up."But that's not what you want to hear, is it?"She shook her head."Didn't think so."I looked back down."Why would people be scared of spirits...? Maybe..."I blinked, thinking I might have it."Maybe because spirits are a reminder..."

Giratina tilted her head."Keep going."

"Ghosts and spirits....they're a reminder of mortality,"I said, looking back up at the ghost dragon."Spirits used to be living creatures, they breathed, they ate, they slept. But they don't once they've died. People may fear ghosts because they know they'll soon become one themselves. Mortals become so used to things of the material plane that they don't want to let it go. But..."I sighed."Death...it's not really an ending. Ghosts are proof of that. It's just...a change. Granted, it's a huge change, but a change either way. Some people don't handle change too well, but it's something we all have to go through. No matter what. People are afraid of ghosts because they remind us of the change that we all must go through, whether we like it or not."

"Excellent!"Giratina said."Very well said!"Another portal appeared."To be able to learn and accept these things is what can make life all the better. Go, and never forget the things you've learned from these and future tests."I nodded, walking into the portal.

XXXX

Again, I was floating. But not in the water, and thankfully not in a psychodelic dimension. I was just floating in a wide blue, cloud filled sky, not a single hint of earth to be seen.

"Well, this is relaxing,"I muttered with a small smile. Suddenly, I heard the sound of many large wings beating. I turned around see Ho-oh and the Legendary Birds. I nodded at them as they surrounded me.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?"Ho-oh asked.

"Let's."

"Now, what does the sky represent?"Ho-oh asked.

"Freedom,"I said right off the bat, not needing to give it a second thought."For some reason, people tend to say that the sky's the limit. That's a bold faced lie. It's the exact opposite. The sky is no limit, gravity is. But we still need it, 'cause too much freedom can be a bad thing, as strange as that may sound."

"Wow,"Articuno said, sounding impressed."Good job."

"You're exactly right,"Moltres said with a nod.

"Us bird pokemon and other flyers have an unspoken agreement that losing our ability to fly is worse than death,"Zapdos said.

"You've passed our test,"Ho-oh said, another portal appearing."You're pretty impressive for a human."I scoffed.

"Like that's something to be proud of,"I muttered, floating through the portal, sensing a small amount confusion from the birds for a brief moment before I disappeared into it.

XXXX

Cold.

Very, very, _very _cold. Snow was all around me, a seemingly endless blizzard blowing from everywhere at once.

"OKAY, REGICE, I GET YOUR POINT!!"I screamed over the icy winds."IT'S THE ICE TEST! NOW TONE IT DOWN, WILL YOU!?!"Thankfully, the blizzard came to a halt, revealing the enigmatic ice Legendary."Was that really necessary?"

"I figured it was appropriate,"she said, shrugging her strange arms. I rolled my eyes.

"Can we just get this over with?"I asked."I'm sure you already know I'm not too fond of the cold."

"Even though your resistance to the cold has improved dramatically over the past week?"she asked, her voice sounding like something sliding along ice.

"Doesn't mean I like it anymore than before all this,"I told her.

"Well, you'll be happy to know you've already passed the ice test,"she said, another portal appearing. I blinked in surprise."You passed it back during Manaphy's test. Remember your little speech about water changing to ice? That answered the question I was going to ask you."

"That's convenient,"I muttered, waving to her as I walked through the portal.

XXXX

"Holy crap, now it's hot,"I said, looking around at the volcanic surroundings."That's really not a whole lot better."

"Then what do you say we get started?"a deep voice asked behind me. I turned around to see Entiei watching me from a few yards away.

"I'd like that,"I said with a nod."So, let's hear it."He seemed to raise an eyebrow.

"'Hear it'?"he asked, then shook his head."I'm afraid your tests are going to be bit a more physical from this point on."

"...I _really_ don't like the sound of that,"I muttered with a frown. He shrugged.

"Sorry,"he said."Are you ready?"I cracked my knuckles and nodded. He raised his front left paw and stomped, causing the ground between us to rumble a bit before collapsing, revealing a narrow path of lava between us. I stared at it blankly, then looked up at the fire beast.

"You've GOT to be kidding me,"I said, dearly hoping I wasn't right about what I had to do.

"Nope,"he said simply. I groaned, holding my head. I had done something like this during my training, but this path was quite a bit longer, plus the heat from the surrounding area certainly wasn't helping. I sighed, focusing my energy to my feet as I had done before in order to increase my resistance to the heat. Once I was sure I was ready, I tententively took my first step onto the molten rock, hissing as the heat travelled through my foot. I carefully continued along the burning path, not breaking my focus for a minute. As I walked forward, I noticed Entiei watching me carefully. After what seemed like an hour, (but was really only a few seconds) I managed to reach the fire beast, sighing as I was relieved from the heat.

"Well done,"he said, yet another portal appearing.

"Uh huh,"I muttered, walking through the portal, and thankfully leaving the heat.

XXXX

I was now in what seemed to be a dark cave, the only light coming from torches along the wall.

"Okay, this is either the rock, ground, or dark test,"I said calmly. I saw something moving in the darkness. I smirked."Hello, Darkria."A single blue eye appeared, then the pitch black pokemon floated into the light.

"Ken,"he said with a nod.

"Okay, so it's the Dark test,"I said."So, what do I do?"

"We're going to play a little game of hide and seek,"he said, the torches going out.

"Uhh..."I muttered trying to look around.

"You can't trust your eyes,"I heard his voice echo."And you can't trust your ears."I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm."And because I'm a dark type, you can't use your psychic powers to detect me."

"And yet you can see me perfectly, am I right?"

"Exactly."

"That's just magical,''I muttered sarcastically. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath, keeping totally still. I supposed that I needed to use my other senses if I was going to find him. I felt the air shift _just_ slightly behind me, and spun on my heel to catch something inches away from my head."Gotcha."I heard a chuckle, then the torches ignited again. I let go of his arm as another portal appeared.

"You've passed half of your tests so far,"he told me."And the rest may be harder still."

"You can only imagine the joy I feel at those words,"I deadpanned. Sighing, I walked through the portal.

XXXX

End of Chapter.

Again, I would ask that you reveiw.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, I guess favorites work.

Chapter 5:The Elemental Trials. Part 2

"If this isn't the electric test, then I'm a shiny Magikarp,"I said flatly, staring at the gigantic storm clouds that practically poured out lightning. The ground was just a barren landscape of rock. A large bolt struck the ground in front of me, creating a flash that blinded me temporarily, not too mention pissed me off. How many times did I have to tell them that my eyes were photo-sensitive?! When I could see again, Raikou was standing in front of me, smirking.

"You ready, kid?"he asked, bolts crackling around him. I nodded, wondering what the thunder beast had in store for me as I blinked away the spots.

"What do I have to do?"I asked, not liking the smirk he had.

"Dodge,"was all he said in response to my question, firing a bolt at me.

"WHOA!"I barely managed to roll out of the way of. I paled as his fur gave off an incredible amount of electricity."...Aw, shit..."Good thing this armor was practically weightless, because I was forced to quickly jump up to dodge another bolt, then twist my body around to dodge a third. He fired toward the spot I was about to land at, but I quickly let out a burst of wind from my hands to avoid it. As soon as I landed, I rolled forward into a standing position and ran to dodge yet another. I lunged forward, just above _another_ freaking bolt. I landed on my hands and started backflipping like mad to avoid a series of bolts. I landed in a crouching position, catching my breath as Raikou stared at me, still smirking.

"Hmph. Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."he said. Another portal appeared and I stood back up, still a bit out of breath as I walked through.

XXXX

This next place...wow. Just wow. I didn't think it was possible, but this place looked weirder than the Unown's dimension. Everywhere I looked, there were stairs going in every direction. Some were even upside down. Spreaded here and there were what looked like the ruined remains of buildings, very few of them even having roofs. One really weird thing was a waterfall that was flowing upside down.

"Okay, I have no idea which test this is,"I said slowly."The only one I can think of is psychic, because none of the remaining would make any sense here."

'Correct,'a voice said in my mind. It was then that the familiar figure of Mewtwo appeared in front of me. I sighed irritably. This was _not _going to end well."Maybe not, but that depends on how well you do."My eye twitched. I **hate **it when he does that.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but what's the test?"I asked dreadfully. He crouched down and picked up a rock the size of a toy car.

"All you have to do is take this little stone from me,"he said calmly. I stared blankly.

"You're going _sensei_ on me?"I asked incredulously. He didn't even smirk at my question.

"Be glad Arceus forbade me from giving you a time limit,"he said, his usually calm tone laced with just a hint of annoyance."Begin."He flew off before I could even blink. I groaned audibly. This was going to _suck_. I quickly flew after him, dodging through the jutting stairs and ruins. As I chased him, I started gathering the moisture in the air, forming it into a cloud that I quickly sent up. Or whichever direction was over my head in this twisted world. He stopped at a wall and spun around, staring at me as I charged at him, my hand outstretched to grab that pebble. Just before I could, though, he simply pulled his hand out of the way, and I smacked into the wall headfirst.

Or at least, that's what would have happened if I hadn't stopped myself with my hands and feet, the momentum hugging me to the wall for less than a second before I lunged the psychic clone. Obviously, it didn't work, which was proven when I bounced off a barrier of psychic energy, flipping through the air before landing back on the wall with my feet.

"Did you really think that was going to work?"he asked me, eyebrow raised as he let his barrier down. I smirked.

"Nope,"I told him calmly. He must have read my mind, because just after I said that, his eyes widened and he looked up just in time to see a lightning bolt fire down at him from the cloud I had created earlier. I lunged at him again. Even he couldn't block the lightning and keep the stone away from me at the same time.

Oh, how I wish I had been right, because that's EXACTLY what he did, knocking me away with his tail and dodging the lightning in one swift move, which annoyed me to no end once I had shaken away the dizziness the bumpy landing had caused and I realized what happened.

"That was pretty good,"he said, tossing the pebble up and down nonchalantly as I stood back up."There's a good chance it would have worked if you had learned how to block me from your mind."

"You're the most powerful psychic in the world,"I deadpanned."How the hell am I supposed to block _you_ out?"He shrugged.

"I suppose that's a valid point,"he said reasonably."But it doesn't help you with this test, now does it?"

"No, but this might!"I said, throwing a fire ball at him with a grunt, keeping my hand outstretched as it flew towards him. He floated sideways to avoid it, but I quickly utilized my psychic powers to pull the fire ball back towards him, hitting him in the back. He grunted in pain as I shot forward, trying to grab that damn pebble again; only to stop inches away from the clone, thanks to his confusion attack. I chuckled nervously."Uh...hi?"

"Bye,"he said calmly, throwing me back to the ground with a flick of his wrist. I sat up and held my head, groaning. At least my armor had absorbed the brunt of the landing.

"This is ridiculous,"I muttered as he floated above me.

"Oh, come now. Are you really giving up so easily?"he asked only half-seriously."There's still a few tactics I can think of that you haven't tried. Remember, this is your psychic test. Use your mind."I blinked at him, then a light bulb went on in my head. I held my hand out.

"May I have the pebble, please?"I asked as politely as I could.

"Of course,"he said almost cheerfully, dropping it right into my hand. Another portal appeared as I stood up and he floated down to where I was standing.

"I don't get it,"I said in confusion."If you were just gonna give it to me, why make me go through all that Tauros crap?"

"Two reasons,"he said,"One:Because it was incredibly amusing."I scowled at that."And secondly, to teach you a lesson. A psychic warrior cannot be narrow-minded, or they will not be able fight to their fullest. There will be battles where you must be strategic. Unorthodox, even. To be a truly powerful psychic, you must be as open-minded as possible, but not so much so that it clouds your judgement. If you learn to achieve the right balance of mental state in the midst of a battle, then it's possible that you can reach my level."He smirked."Of course, that possibility is still rather low."I rolled my eyes, but he had a point. He _is_ pretty damn powerful, after all.

"Thanks for the lesson,"I muttered sarcastically, walking through the portal.

XXXX

"Oh, this isn't right,"I muttered, covering my nose as I looked down. I was now standing in a completely white room, the only noticeable thing being a pit of poisonous...something in front of me, purple fumes rising to greet my nose with a painful sting.

"Stinks, doesn't it?"a voice asked from across the pit. I looked over to see the Lake Spirits, Azelf being the one who had spoken. I glared at him.

"No, I'm covering my nose because it forgot to bring it's sweater,"I replied sarcastically. Uxie was the only one who didn't laugh.

"Are you ready for your poison test?"he asked calmly.

"I think you know the answer,"I told him. He nodded.

"Yes, but I just didn't want to be rude,"he said.

"Thanks. So, what do I do?"

"You're probably not going to like it,"Mesprit told me.

"I already don't like it,"I said flatly."Let's just get it over with."

"Fair enough,"Azelf said."All you have to do is inhale the fumes."

"...You're kidding me, right?"I deadpanned."What, and stay conscious?"They shook their heads.

"No, there's no chance you'll stay awake,"Mesprit said."In ancient times, poisonous fumes were inhaled to see visions of the future. That is what you must do. It doesn't matter what you see. Once you awaken, you'll pass the test and be allowed to move forward."I stared back down for a moment, watching the poisonous gunk bubble and churn.

"Crap,"I muttered. Steeling my nerves, I let my hand down from my face and inhaled deeply.

I was knocked out before I even hit the floor.

XXXX

Everything was blurring. So much so that I couldn't tell where the hell I was. People and pokemon moved too fast for me tell what they were. Voices floated around here and there, so distorted that I couldn't understand them. It was all so disorienting that I couldn't tell which direction was up.

But something...something stood out from it all, a white and green figure stood across from me. The figure was too blurred for me to tell who or what it was, but I could tell that it was looking straight at me. Before I could blink, I found myself staring into a pair of red eyes just a few inches from my face. They were...beautiful. For whatever reason, I felt so peaceful that I couldn't look away. They held a strange, inner beauty that sent a strange tingling through me. I just wanted to stare at these eyes forever. Then and there, nothing else really seemed to matter anymore...

XXXX

I gasped as I awoke, quickly sitting up and looking around. I was back in that strange white room, where the Lake Spirits were surrounding me.

"Are you alright?"Mesprit asked. I sighed and looked down at the gauntlets on my hands, thinking about those beautiful eyes I had seen.

"Ken? What's wrong?"Azelf asked. I looked back up at them.

"...I've passed my test, right?"I asked, ignoring his question. Mesprit and Azelf looked at each other, then looked back at me and nodded."Then I should get going."I stood up slowly, the three floating back. A pause, then another portal appeared. I walked past them and towards the shimmering light.

"Ken, what did you see?"Mesprit asked. I stopped and looked over my shoulder, seeing their concerned stares.

"The most beautiful eyes I've ever seen in my life,"I said, barely able to make it above a whisper. I walked through the portal without another word.

XXXX

I looked around curiously. I was now in what looked like a dojo, with a square arena in the middle of the room.

"Hi, Ken!"a familiar voice said. I blinked, then turned my head to see Anubis and Mew sitting on a pair of Mew's psychic bubbles. I realized Anubis was the one who had spoken.

"Fighting test, I assume?"

"Yup!"Mew chirped. They both hopped off their "chairs," moving over to the ring. I followed them onto it, standing across from them. I stood in a fighting stance, fists clenched.

"So, Mew. What are you gonna turn into?"I asked, automatically assuming I had fight her. She could transform into any pokemon in the world, so I think my assumptions were justified.

She tilted her head."You think _I'm_ the one you're fighting?"She made a sound like a buzzer."I'm sorry, that's incorrect, sir!"She pointed her tail at Anubis."_He's_ the one you gotta get through."My stance dropped and a long silence followed after that statement.

"...What?"I finally asked flatly.

"I said--"

"I know what you said,"I interrupted with a small growl."_Why_?"

"Well, there aren't any fighting type Legendaries,"Mew said with a shrug, as if that explained everything, which it didn't.

"And you thought Anubis was a good subsitute!?"I asked incredulously. Why would they want me to fight my oldest and best friend?

"You don't have to worry about hurting him,"the pink kitten said, remaining calm."We'll heal him just as soon as you're done."

"That's not the point,"I growled angrily."How is this a good test? I would beat him in seconds. He's way too weak to stand a chance against someone with my kind of power."I quickly glanced at the blue-furred fighter."No offense, partner."

"None taken,"he said with a carefree shrug. I looked back at Mew.

"Don't you want an easy test after all those harder ones?"Mew asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, but not like this,"I said, crossing my arms.

"Are you sure?"she asked, her voice edged with...excitement?

"Yes, I'm sure,"I said, my eyes narrowing."Find someone else."To my surprise, Mew broke into a massive grin.

"Congratulations! You've passed your fighting test!"she said cheerfully. My arms dropped as I stood there, flabbergasted.

"...Say what?"I asked, incredibly confused. Was she hyper or something?

"I'm a bit surprised you haven't figured it out,"Mew said, still smiling at me.

"An explanation would be nice..."I mumbled as they came over to me.

"You see, it's true that a great hero needs to be strong both physically and mentally, but they also need restraint,"Mew started. I blinked, already figuring it out. It was an advantage of having such a high IQ. Mew continued her speech, floating on her back."Just because you have the power to do something, it doesn't mean you should. Those who abuse the power they have don't deserve it."

"Those with power should always defend those who can't defend themselves, not pick on them,"I said calmly, finishing for her.

"That's right!"Mew said happily, another portal appearing."Just a few more tests, and you'll finally be done!"

"Thank goodness,"I muttered. Mew then formed two psychic bubbles, and the two of them climbed on top. Anubis waved to me.

"See ya later!"he said. I walked towards the portal as they started to talk with each other, but stopped just short of it, looking at them from over my shoulder. I couldn't help but think of how close those two were becoming. I wonder, would they become more than just friends? I walked through the portal with a chuckle, shaking my head.

XXXX

Rocks. Lots of 'em. Everywhere. Need I say more?

"Why is it that very few of these tests aren't blatantly obvious from the _start_?"I asked rhetorically, looking around. I heard some light stomping, and watched as Regirock emerged from behind a large boulder.

"Hello, Ken,"he said, his voice low and gravelly.

"Let's get this over with,"I said. He seemed to nod, hard to tell since he didn't have a neck. The ground rumbled for a moment before the ground on either side of us heaved up, putting us in a narrow 'canyon' of sorts. I saw that there was no wall behind Regirock. And when I looked back, there was no wall behind me, either. I looked back at the rock type legendary, raising an eyebrow as he walked to the middle.

"Walk forward about...mmm....five or six steps,"he said. I did so, wondering what he was about to do.

"Okay, now what?"I asked.

"I'm going to try and push you back through that opening,"he said, pointing behind me."You have to keep me from doing just that for about 30 seconds. You don't have to push me back, just keep me from shoving you out."My eyebrow rose again.

"Let me guess, it's all about keeping a firm resolve like a boulder or something, right?"

"Basically, yes,"he said calmly. He seemed to tense up, and I did the same, holding my hands forward and digging my heels into the ground. "Ready?" I nodded, and he charged without another word. I gulped audibly; I believed I could hold him back long enough, but I figured an impact from something as big as him running at me full tilt wouldn't exactly tickle, even with my armor.

I was right.

I grunted in pain as he collided, pushing me back a few feet, but I held him back with all my might, which was a lot more than most humans had. My muscles strained as I struggled to hold him back. This guy was stronger than he looked; and he looked pretty damn strong from the start! I could feel that sweat was already starting to form on my forehead. He started to push me back, though very, _very_ slowly. After a small amount of time, he stopped just a few feet away from the 'exit.' He took a few steps back and nodded.

"Good job,"he said, the walls receding back into the ground."To be honest, I figured I would push you much farther."I sighed tiredly, nodding.

"You almost did,"I told him as another portal appeared."Too much longer, and my arms probably would have given out."He chuckled.

"Ah, I'm sure you would have held on,"he said."You're a real tough guy."

"If you say so,"I muttered, not really thinking on the same lines as the golem. I walked through the portal, grateful for having such good healing abilities.

XXXX

The next place was a lot like the last, except with no rocks. Just a barren landscape with the sun beating down. The ground rumbled and shook from behind me; and I turned to see Groudon standing across from me about 6 or 7 yards.

"Alright, bud. I know you're tired, but you only got three more tests to go,"he bellowed."Now, I want you to make a fissure between us, and make sure it reaches me from where you are. Don't make it too big, but don't make it small either. About the size of my middle claw will do."I nodded and cracked my knuckles, staring at the ground. I took a deep breath and held my hands forward.

The ground began to shake as I concentrated on it, trying to generate enough power to split it as a start. I gritted my teeth and growled, a small crack beginning to form between us. I began to manipulate the ground the best of my ability, trying to ignore the throbbing in my head. Slowly but surely, the crack began to grow and lengthen, either side eventually reaching us both. I pulled my hands apart slowly, widening the crack considerably, but not too much. When I was finally finished, I doubled over with a gasp, hands on my knees as I tried to stay steady.

"That...was...hard,"I muttered, out of breath. I looked up at Groudon, who was examining the fissure.

"A little big, but still a good job,"he said, looking back at me and grinning."It's all about control, kid, and you've got plenty."I took off my helmet for a moment to wipe my forehead as another portal appeared."Two more to go and you're finally done. Good luck."I walked through the portal, putting my helmet back on as I did so.

XXXX

Now I was in what looked like a factory, with conveyor belts, cranes, and even a furnace. In the middle of it all was a metallic, yet immobile conveyor belt that was bigger than the rest. And sitting on that belt was Registeel, arms crossed and his eyes dull, which basically meant they were closed. I walked up to him and climbed on top of the belt.

"Greetings, Ken,"he said calmly, his voice, obviously enough, sounding somewhat like a metal object on the verge of snapping in two. He opened his eyes and stood up, standing just a few inches taller than me.

"So, what do I do this time?"I asked.

"Basically, this will be Regirock's test backwards,"he said calmly."You have to push me off this conveyor belt. That's it."Before I could ask, he chuckled and added "Don't worry, it won't move."

"Good, 'cause I really wasn't looking forward to that,"I said. The steel type crouched slightly.

"Any time you're ready,"he said, arms crossed in front of his 'chest.' I held my arms forward and charged, my hands slamming into his daimond hard skin, my gauntlets thankfully absorbing the blow. I began to push as hard as I could, which would have been much more if I weren't so tired from all the previous tests. I began to slowly push him back, despite my muscles screaming at me for rest. But I couldn't, I was way too close to finishing all this, and there was no way I'd give up now.

As I continued to push him back, he spoke in calm voice, as if he wasn't being shoved back by a superpowered teenager."Do not see me as an obstacle, Ken."

"Well, you're sure as hell acting like one!"I managed grunt out through my fatigue.

"No, I mean you shouldn't see me as an obstacle in your path,"he said."I want you to look at me as if I were a limit within yourself."I grunted again and closed my eyes, trying to picture this. I saw myself standing in front of a wall, staring it down. I imagined myself rearing my fist back as I concentrated. Then I smashed through the wall with all my might, breaking it to peices and a strange light engulfing me. I opened my eyes wide, seeing that my armor was glowing, renewed energy coursing through my veins and into my muscles.

"GRRRAAAAAGHHH!!"I roared as I started charging forward at increasing speeds.

"Whoa!"I heard Registeel shout as I _picked him up_ and ran with all my strength, reaching the end of the conveyor belt and nearly _throwing_ him off! I panted heavily, trying to regain my composure. When I finally came to my senses a few moments later, my eyes widened as I realized what I had just done. I just picked up a creature who weighed nearly a ton and ran nearly 10 feet before tossing him to the ground. I was shaken out of my musings when I heard Registeel laugh.

"Uh...sorry about that,"I muttered as he stood up, still chuckling.

"That was far beyond my expectations, boy!"he said cheerfully."You have nothing to be sorry for!"Another portal appeared."Your final test awaits, Ken. I'm sure you'll pass it just as you have pass all the others."

"Thanks,"I said, walking through it with anticipation.

XXXX

I was now standing on a circular platform with runic markings around the edge, floating in the middle of space. Why? Because it made so much sense, of course! Floating in a circle around me were all the dragon Legendaries, including Giratina.

"Well, I don't need process of elimination to figure this one out,"I said calmly."Just please don't tell me I have to fight you all or I am going to be _pissed off_."Many of them laughed.

"Don't worry, this test won't be phsyical in the slightest,"Rayquaza assured me. I sighed in relief.

"Another riddle, huh?"I asked rhetorically. They nodded."Let's hear it, then."

"Tell us, what do we dragons represent?"Rayquaza asked. I brought a hand to my chin in thought. _Hmm. What do dragons, as a whole, I presume, represent? Grace? Nope, Dialga and Palkia prove that wrong on a daily basis._ As I thought this, I heard the Latis snicker. So they were reading my mind. I didn't care at the moment. _Knowledge? Hell to the no. Dialga and Palkia proved_ that _wrong too_. I rolled my eyes upon thinking this, and the Latis snickered a bit louder, earning the attention of the other dragons. I tried to ignore them.

_Hmm, can't be strength. The Latis prove that wrong themselves._ When I thought this, they both stopped snickering and gave me annoyed looks. _Speed is more their thing._ I smiled as I thought this, watching as they seemed to be calmed by my compliment. I looked down in thought, crossing my arms. _Life? Of course not, Giratina is part ghost type, so that was out of the question. And I really doubt it's death, since some dragons live for ages_. I groaned quietly, pinching the bridge of my nose. I blinked, contemplating everything I had just thought about. _Wow, come to think, dragons can do a lot of things. Flying, swimming, psychic abilities, even control time, space, and dimension._ I looked amongst the dragons. _They had incredible potential..._

I smirked to myself, finally figuring it out.

"Potential,"I said calmly. The dragons looked at the Lati twins, who nodded, as if to answer an unspoken question. I assumed they were asking if I truly understood what I had just said, or something like that. They all turned their heads back to me, smiling.

"Congratulations. You've passed your dragon test,"Rayquaza said, grinning. There was a humongous flash that forced me to cover my eyes as I shouted.

XXXX

I opened my eyes seeing that I was back in the meeting tower, back in my regular clothes. Looking up and around, I saw the Legendaries all smiling down at me, even Mewtwo. I looked forward to see Arceus, who was smiling just like everyone else.

"Well done, Ken,"he said."You have passed every test we have to give you. You are now ready to start your journey."I looked down to see Anubis grinning up at me. I looked back up.

"That's good, right?"I asked tiredly.

"Correct,"he said with a nod. I weakly held my fist up.

"Woo...hoo,"I muttered, then passed out on the spot face-first to get some much needed rest.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Again, I ask for reveiws.


	6. Chapter 6

A word of warning: this chapter will have a lot of big time skips.

Finally, someone reviews. Don't worry RedHerring, there's action in this chapter. But next chapter is where it really starts.

Chapter 6:The Team

**The Spark Thief**

It had been about two days since I finished my training, and Anubis and I were now in Jubilife City, heading inside a Pokemon Center. It took us a while to actually find this place, since there wasn't one in Twinleaf and we didn't recognize it right away. But we were glad to have finally found the place so we could relax.

Or so we thought.

As we walked up to the desk, we saw a nurse with pink hair I knew to be Nurse Joy. I could sense a feeling of nervousness and worry coming from her, but she hid it very well.

"Hello, there. May I help you?"she asked cheerfully, smiling.

"Yes, ma'am. We'd like to spend the night,"I said, addressing Anubis and myself.

"Alright then,"she said, reaching under the desk and pulling out a drawer. Anubis brought his muzzle to my ear.

"Do you feel that?"he whispered. I nodded.

'She seems pretty nervous about something,'I said telepathically, so as not to arouse her suspicion. The nurse then handed me a small key.

"You'll be staying in room 7, at the end of that hall and to the right."She pointed to a hallway at my left.

I nodded in reply."Thank you, ma'am."I turned to leave, but paused and looked back."Er, ma'am? Is something wrong?"Her smile faltered.

"Well...yes, I'm afraid so,"she admitted."You see, lately, we've been experiencing many power outages. They don't last very long, but there's so many that it's becoming a problem for the pokemon and guests we have here. It's very worrying."I tilted my head.

"Have you figured out the cause?"I asked.

She nodded."Yes, it seems that there is an Elekid that somehow manages to reach our power supply without anyone noticing,"she said."It keeps draining the power from our generator. It happens at least three times a day, morning, noon, and night."I brought a hand to my chin, looking down in thought.

"Sounds like it's keeping up with it's daily meals,"I said thoughtfully, then looked back at her."But how do you know it's an Elekid?"

"We've managed to catch it on security cameras for brief moments,"Joy said."It's very strange. Elekid are usually native to Johto. Why there's one here, I don't have a clue."

"Maybe we can do something,"I offered, but she shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer, but this particular Elekid is very crafty,"Joy told us."It's already managed to get past trained guards without being caught. Not even our Growlithe have been able to find it. I don't think you would be able to catch it alone."I smirked, tossing a pokeball up and down.

"Well, I may be new at this, but catching pokemon is what we trainers do, ma'am,"I said. The lights began to flicker without warning. We (that is, me and Anubis) looked up in surprise, while Joy just shook her head.

"Right on time as always,"she said as the lights went out completely.

"Which way to the generator?"I asked quickly. She pointed down another hallway. I quickly broke into a sprint, running down the hallway as fast as I can. As I neared the end of it, I heard distinct shouting accompanied by blasts of electricity. We turned a corner and saw the culprit standing in another hallway across from where we were. I could sense something strange about him. It was a vague sense of having met him before that I couldn't explain.

"Boo! Boo I say to you, sirs!"the Elekid said with a strange 40's mobster accent."You humans won't be catching the likes of me, see?"He blinked once, then looked at us. I took a step forward."There's something strange about you, human."He smirked."But you won't be capturing the Spark Thief, either, see?"He quickly dashed off at a speed I wouldn't expect from a pokemon of his shape and size.

"Spark Thief, eh?"I asked, running to catch up with him."Let's see how you like dealing with a superhero."

"This is gonna be awesome!"I heard Anubis say. I took a quick glance at him, seeing that he was grinning ear to ear.

"It'll be interesting, that's for certain,"I agreed as we exited the building, seeing the Elekid running outside the city borders at a pretty high speed. I quickly gave chase, following him into the forest, using my psychic senses to keep track of him. I chased after for a few minutes before reaching a small clearing, seeing the Elekid nowhere in sight. At least, not in human sight. I could sense that he was around here somewhere, but for whatever reason, I couldn't tell where he was exactly."Alright, I know you're here. Show yourself."I heard snickering, along with the sound of electricity crackling, which brought back memories of when I first met Mesprit and how she made me hear different voices and sounds. I watched, bemused, as the Elekid stepped out into the clearing.

"Getting rid of you ain't easy,"he said, smirking."You're a lot more persistant than those other humans, see?"

"Should I feel insulted by that?"I asked, eyebrow raised. His eyes widened.

"What--who--HOW THE HECK DID YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?!"he asked, obviously shocked. (No pun intended.)

"It's an ability I was born with,"I said simply.

He frowned."But what's this vibe I keep getting from you all about? I know you're not a normal human, so you may as well fess up, see?"I noticed that electricity was starting to crackle between the plug-like horns on his head, indicating that he was ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"My name is Ken Woods,"I told him."I'm the chosen one of Arceus. My job is to take down an organization called the Chrome Syndicate. Ever hear of them?"He rasied an eyebrow, then shook his head.

"Can't say I have,"he told me."So, what are they doing that's so bad that Arceus himself would want you to fight 'em?"I told him, and he didn't take it well."SAY WHAT?!? They want to destory us!? What for!?"I told him that as well, and he smacked his forehead."Yeesh, you humans ain't too bright, see?"

"Tell me about it,"I muttered."I'm not too proud to be a human, really."I shook my head, trying to get back to the problem at hand."Let's get down to business. We've come after you to catch you."He smirked at this, crossing his arms.

"You ain't the only one who's tried, see?"he said. Anubis hopped off my shoulder, facing the electric type down."What's the big deal, anyway? What's wrong with having a bite now and then? I'm not hurting nobody."He crossed his arms.

"Do you even know what that building is for?"Anubis asked. He frowned again, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Why?"he asked.

"That place is called a pokemon center,"I told him."It's where trainers bring their pokemon to rest and get their injuries healed. Whenever you take energy from that place, you're keeping other pokemon in pain longer."His eyes widened and his arms dropped to his sides. I could sense an incredible amount of surprise coming from him.

"But-but...I didn't know that..."he muttered, looking down."I don't want to hurt nobody. I was just trying to get by, see?"He spread his arms out."This place doesn't have thunderstorms often enough. So, a mon's gotta survive with what he's got, see?"

"What, you can't eat berries like other pokemon?"I asked.

"Berries alone don't cut it for us electric types, pal,"the Elekid said. He narrowed his eyes."Besides, I got a reputation to keep up. I'm the great Spark Thief, after all."He charged up electricity between his horns."Tell you what. Since you're this chosen whoever of Arceus, I'll take on your little friend there."He pointed at Anubis."You beat me and I'll join you, no questions asked. We got an agreement or what?"

"You're on!"Anubis said, not even giving me a chance to consider it.

"Are you sure, Anubis?"I asked. He looked over his shoulder at me."This'll be your first real battle, and you saw how fast he is."He grinned in response.

"Don't worry, buddy!"he said."You're not the only one who's trained with the Legendaries. I've gotten stronger, too!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up a sec!"the Elekid said. We both looked back at him."You two trained with the Legendaries?!"We nodded in unison."Well, dang. This should be a pretty good battle."He started spinning his arms at high speed, generating an electric charge between his horns again.

"Alright, Anubis,"I said, snapping my goggles over my eyes."Let's start this off with force palm!"He charged forward, his right paw glowing with energy. The Elekid smirked and fired a blast of thunder that shot towards the Riolu, who quickly jumped over it, rearing his fist back. Elekid quickly jumped to the side to avoid it, causing Anubis to smash the ground and create large cracks in the ground. The Elekid whistled as Anubis faced him.

"Nice attack, kid,"he complimented."But can you handle _this_?"His right fist became covered in an icy mist, which made our eyes widened. He ran towards Anubis at high speed, fist pulled back to land an Ice Punch.

"Dodge it!"I shouted. Anubis tried rolling out of the way, but the Elekid caught up to him and managed to graze his shoulder, covering it in bits of ice and knocking Anubis off-balance. He quickly rolled into a standing position and rubbed his shoulder frantically, backing away from the Elekid.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold,"I heard him mutter as he tried to warm his arm up. I looked back at Elekid, who fired another bolt. My eyes widened. "Anubis, look out!"He looked up to see the bolt flying at him. He quickly hopped to the side, then glared at his opponent.

"No fair! I don't have any long range attacks!"he pouted angrily. I had to agree, that was a cheap shot.

Elekid just shrugged."Sorry, kid. I don't know what kind of cozy living style you got,"he said."But you can't afford to be fair out here in the wild, see?"Growling, Anubis charged at him, dodging past another bolt and knocking Elekid away with a quick attack. Elekid quickly stood up, but was knocked back down by a force palm from the Riolu.

"Calm down, Anubis,"I scolded him as Elekid stood up."Getting angry will only make things worse for you."

"Heh, at least he's learning,"Elekid said, readying what I assumed was a thunder punch. Anubis then prepared a force palm attack.

"Let's finish this!"Anubis said. Elekid nodded in agreement. They ran towards each other, fists pulled back. Once they were close enough, they swung their arms forward, fists colliding to create a small, explosive flash that probably would've hurt my eyes if I weren't wearing my goggles at the time.

"Anubis!"I shouted, worried for his health. When the flash died down, I saw that they were both still standing. Elekid was covered in bruises while Anubis had sparks crackling around his fur. Elekid groaned in pain, but managed to smirk in spite of it.

"Good shot, kid,"he muttered, then fell over, unconscious. I looked back at Anubis, who was breathing heavily, but still looked like he was in better shape than the Elekid was.

"Hurry up and catch him,"he said tiredly. I nodded, then pulled out a pokeball from my backpack. I hurled it at the Elekid, the sphere bouncing off him before opening up and firing a red beam at him, and pulling him within it's depths. The ball landed on the ground, but didn't even shake once before beeping to confirm the catch. I grinned widely, walking up to Anubis and picking him and the pokeball up.

"Let's get you two to the pokemon center,"I said, pulling my goggles back up with my free hand.

XXXX

"Oh! You're back!"Nurse Joy said. I saw her look at Anubis, who was on my shoulder. "Don't feel too bad. Like I said, not even our trained guards could it."She probably thought we had failed because of his condition.

"Who said I didn't catch him?"I asked, holding up the pokeball with Elekid inside. You can only imagine the satisfaction I felt from the look on her face.

"That's great!"she said happily. I nodded, placing the pokeball on the desk.

"Yeah, but the battle tired both of them out,"I told her."Think you could heal them for me?"She nodded.

"Of course,"she said."If you'll just call your Riolu back to it's pokeball, I'll have them fixed up in a heartbeat."I paused, then looked Anubis, who seemed apprehensive. Arceus had given me a pokeball for him, but the one time he got into it, he didn't like it _at all_. I looked back at the nurse.

"Uh, is there anyway you can heal him without it?"I asked."Anubis here _really_ doesn't like staying in his pokeball."She smiled.

"Well, normally I wouldn't, but considering how you've helped the center, I can make an exception,"she said with a smile. Anubis hopped onto the desk as she picked up the pokeball."I'll be done in about 5 minutes."They both went into a hall behind the desk, the door closing behind them. I felt a little worried about it, but quickly dismissed it, knowing that this was a professional nurse.

Sighing, I walked over to a table near the wall like in a restuarant and sat down, leaning back against the wall.

"Hello there,"a voice said. I turned my head to see a young girl who looked about 15. She had dull pink hair with three braids on either side of her head. She wore a necklace with a red gem, and wore mostly light blue clothes. I recognized her almost instantly.

'Mesprit?"I asked telepathically.

"You can call me Maria,"she said with a smile.

"Okay, then,"I muttered."So, what are you doing here, Maria?"

"It's about that Elekid you just caught,"she said.

"You guys are watching me?"I asked, feeling somewhat offended.

"Don't worry, we're not watching you all the time,"she said with a dismissive wave."We just want to check on you now and then. Nothing wrong with that, right?"I shrugged.

"I suppose not,"I said."Now, about that Elekid?"

"You felt something strange when you first saw him, didn't you?"she asked me. I raised an eyebrow, then nodded.

"Yeah, what was that all about?"I asked.

"Do you remember when we first met?"she asked."When you heard those different voices and sounds?"I nodded.

"Yeah, his snickering sounded just like the first voice I heard,"I said.

"Ken, you were meant to come across that Elekid,"Mesprit said, resting her chin on her interlaced fingers."You and Anubis were destined to find and catch him. His speed and skills as a theif will help you when fighting the Chrome Syndicate."I blinked in surprise.

"Are his stealth skills really that good?"I asked curiously. She nodded.

"You heard what Nurse Joy said,"she said calmly."He was able to get past trained human guards and even a unit of Growlithe, who have very well-trained senses."

"But he was still caught on camera,"I pointed out. She just smiled.

"That's because he doesn't know what they are or what they can do,"she said."I assure you that if he knew what security cameras did, he would not have been caught."My eyes and her smile widened."He's just that good. How do you think he even got here?"I said nothing, prompting her to continue."He snuck aboard the S.S Anne, one of the most heavily guarded cruise boats in the world. He stayed out of sight for a solid month before finally reaching Sinnoh."My jaw dropped.

I saw her look over my shoulder, then I did same thing, seeing Nurse Joy walking into the room."If you want to know more, ask him."She stood up from the table."And remember, he's only the first of many you'll encounter."She walked out the door. I stared after her for only a second longer before standing up and walking over to Nurse Joy. Anubis was standing on the desk, looking as healthy as ever. He quickly jumped on my shoulder.

"Feeling better?"I asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, she's a miracle worker!"he said. Joy then handed me Elekid's pokeball.

"I hope you manage to teach that Elekid a lesson about stealing,"she told me.

"Somehow, I don't think that'll be easy,"I muttered humorously.

XXXX

We were now in the room Nurse Joy had given us before the incident with Elekid. I was sitting in a chair and Anubis was on the bed.

"Alright, you. C'mon out,"I tossed his pokeball causing it to pop open in a white flash, revealing the Electric pokemon. He looked around curiously, obviously wondering where he was."Ok. First off, do you have a name you'd like to be referred to?"

"Yeah, the name's Zapperton, see?"he said."I prefer to be called Zaps, if you don't mind too much."I nodded.

"Alright then, Zaps,"I said."Tell me, why do you want to be a thief? For that matter, why are you so good at it?"He grinned.

"Easy. I come from a long line of Electivire theives, see?"he said."My family have been theives for generations. It's sort of a tradition. The title of "Spark Thief" and the Zapperton name is passed on from kid to kid. And I'm just the latest, see?"

"So, your thieving skills are something you were born with, eh?"

"That's right, boss,"he said with a nod. I paused at that.

"Boss?"I asked. He nodded again.

"It's another tradition we have,"he said."Whenever we're caught by a human, we call them 'boss,' see?"

"Why?"

He just shrugged.

"I would prefer if you called me Ken,"I told him, then I shrugged myself."But if you want to stick to your family tradition, I won't stop you."

"Thanks. You're not bad for a human,"he told me.

"No problem,"I told him dismissively."Now, how do you know Ice Punch?"He held his fist up, an icy mist forming around it just as before.

"Is that what this is called?"he asked, staring at his fist."I've always been able to do this. It's one of the famous attacks my family's known for, see? My ancestor, the first Spark Thief, got hitched with a Medicham."The icy mist disippated, and he let his arm back down.

"That's another thing,"I said."Why did your ancestor become a thief, anyway?"

Zaps then told us a story about how how his ancestor had the family heirloom stolen from him by a Weavile, something called the Volt Ring. He told me that it gave the Electivire line complete immunity to ground type attacks, which was pretty impressive. The first Zapperton had sworn to the heavens that his descendants would be raised as the greatest thieves known to pokemon kind, and that one day one of his descendants would take the ring back. But he said that he would teach his line to never truly hurt another creature. They would only steal, never harming the innocent. He declared that some day in the distant future, one of his descendants, destined for greatness, would finally take back their family heirloom.

"Wow,"I said once he had finished."So, your family is honor-bound to live your lives as thieves until you finally take back this Volt Ring?"

"Heck of a story, ain't it?"Zaps asked with wistful smile."I grew up listenin' to it, see?"Anubis and I looked at each other, then back at Zaps.

"I was told recently that we were destined to meet you, Zaps,"I said, standing up."I heard that you're stealth skills would help alot against the Chrome Syndicate. It's possible that _you're_ the one born to take back the ring."I held my hand out to him as he blinked in surprise."So, what do you say, Zaps? Feel like travelling with us?"He stared at me with wide eyes, then smirked.

"You got yourself a deal, boss!"he said, shaking my hand.

"Just one thing,"I asked. He tilted his head."Why did you come all the way to Sinnoh?"He frowned at this, looking down.

"I..."he hesitated."I dunno. Something in my gut just told me to catch the boat that brought me here."He looked back up at me, smiling a bit."Maybe it's just that destiny thing."I smiled as well.

"Anything's possible."

XXXX

**The Flying Colossus**

It had been about a week since we had met Zapperton. We had just beaten Roark and gotten the Mine Badge. Anubis had managed to knock out his first pokemon and weaken his Cranidos before being knocked out. Zaps' Ice Punch had taken the gym leader by surprise and we had managed to defeat him.

Roark had been nice enough to give me something called a Tm, which could apparently teach the move Stealth Rock, a move he had tried to use in our battle. Unfortunately, neither Anubis or Zapperton could learn the move, so I had decided to save it for later. At the moment, we were at the bike route to Eterna City, only to find out that it was a one-way downhill track.

"Well, that sucks,"I muttered as we left the gateway leading to the bike route, Anubis on my shoulder and Zaps walking next to me, arms behind his head. He didn't like being in a pokeball, either.

"Why don't you just fly to get us there, Ken?"Anubis asked as I sat down.

"I'm not allowed to use my powers for personal gain, remember?"I asked, pulling our map from my backpack.

"If we can't go this way, how do we get to the next city, boss?"Zaps asked. I stared at the map I was holding, tracing my finger along the path we had taken. I groaned audibly when I realized what we had to do.

"According to the map, we need to go all the way back to Jubilife,"I started, gaining groans from my two partners."Then head north into Floaroma Town."They groaned even louder."And finally--"I was interrupted when I suddenly sensed something flying above us, along with the sounds of colossal wings beating, which sounded very familiar. It was then that I saw a shadow on the ground that was rapidly becoming larger. I looked up just in time to see a rather large, winged, light purple creature with Krabby-like claws slam right into me, knocking Anubis off my shoulder in the process."Ow..."

"Hey! Nobody hits the boss like that!"I heard Zaps shout. I shoved the large creature off of myself, though it took quite a bit of effort, even with my strength. I stood up and rubbed my head, taking a good look at the creature lying in a daze. I recognized it as a Gligar, and an unusually big one, at that. I could probably stretch my arms out and I wouldn't reach his wing span. The Gligar flailed on the ground, trying to get up. I tilted my head, feeling the same sensation I had when I first saw Zapperton.

"Er...a little help here?"he asked, his voice sounding scratchy. I looked around quickly, making sure there was no one who could see us. I flicked my wrist, creating a small gust of wind that allowed the Gligar to gain some altitude."Uhh, sorry about that. The wind just went crazy, and next thing I knew, I crashed right into ya."

"Hey, accidents happen,"I said calmly as he perched on the ground, his head actually reaching my stomach. Yeah, he was _that_ big."As long you didn't mean to, it's alright."He smiled.

"Thanks, pal!"he said happily. But then he frowned and blinked."Wait, you can understand me?"

"That's right,"I said with a nod. He tilted his head.

"Wow. Something's...funny about you..."he muttered, sticking his tongue out and scrunching his face as if he was concentrating.

"I can say the same about you,"I told him."You're rather big for a Gligar, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I get that alot,"he said, nodding."My name's Fang. But who are you?"

"My name's Ken Woods,"I said."What you're sensing from me is my elemental powers. I'm the chosen of Arceus."He gasped loudly.

"That's amazing!"he said, then tilted his head in confusion."Wait, what does that mean?"I slapped my forehead while Anubis and Zaps facefaulted.

"Basically, my job is to take down a group called the Chrome Syndicate, with a little help, of course,"I said, motioning to the two beside me."The Chrome Syndicate is a group of humans who want to rule the world and eradicate pokemon from the planet."He seemed to lose his balance for a moment before steadying himself again.

"Why!?"he asked."Do they think we're gonna try to destroy them first or something?!"I blinked in surprise, and sensed that Anubis and Zaps were rather shocked, too.

"Actually, yes, that's exactly right,"I said, unable to keep the surprise from my voice."How'd you figure that out?"He shrugged his wings.

"Heck, that was a total shot in the dark,"he told me."Well, if you're trying to beat them, can I help? I'm not that fast, but I promise I can really take a hit or two!"I crossed my arms and looked at Anubis and Zapperton, who nodded in unison. I looked back at Fang.

"Something in my gut tells me we're going to need your help,"I told him."So, welcome aboard."He grinned widely."But I'd like to know something."

"Lemme guess, you want the story on my size, right?"he asked. I nodded.

Fang told us that, simply put, he was born large. Sadly, his mother had died hatching his egg, and his father was forced to raise him alone. He was always scorned by other Gligar simply because of his size and clumsiness, which I could sympathize with, having been feared for my own ability. Eventually, he got fed up with all the teasing and flew off into the night. He said that he had been searching long and hard for something that could prove that he wasn't just a big, useless oaf like many others had told him.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that with us,"I assured him."I'm sure you'll be very useful to our team."

"Sweet!"he said excitedly."So, what do we do first?"I looked back towards the bike path, an idea forming in my head. Then I looked back at Fang and smirked.

"Think you can give us a lift?"

XXXX

**The Dual-Minded Program**

It had been a few weeks since Fang had joined us and we beat Gardenia. I had used the TM Roark had given me on Fang. It didn't do a whole lot against Gardenia's grass pokemon, but it was still helpful. A few days later, Zaps had evolved into an Electabuzz after we had reached Hearthome, which he was very happy about. Surprisingly, the evolution didn't hinder his agility or speed in the slightest. In fact, they seemed to improve.

Back to the present, I panted heavily as I ran through a metallic corridor, klaxons blaring. I was in the middle of a raid of a Chrome Syndicate base near a large river, and had set the base to self-destruct after knocking out most of the base's soldier's and setting free the imprisoned pokemon here, led out by Anubis, Zaps, and Fang. I was on the final stretch to the exit. But in a sudden flash, something appeared in the way.

It was...a Porygon?

"Get outta the way!"I shouted as I ran towards it. The Virtual pokemon tilted it's head.

"Okay!"it shouted happily in a child-like voice, floating to the side and letting me pass through. I didn't bother to look back, but I couldn't help wondering what the hell just happened. I continued to run for another minute before reaching a clearing with a river running through it. Waiting there were Anubis, Zaps, and Fang, along with the pokemon we had freed. I turned around in time to see the base going up in a fiery blast. I instantly thought of that random Porygon I had seen. Did it escape? Was it destroyed in the blast?

I shook my head, remembering the matter at hand. I turned my attention to the freed pokemon, which, strangely enough, consisted of only water type pokemon. I concentrated, making my armor disappear and my normal clothes replacing them.

"Is everyone okay?"I asked. Anubis nodded, grinning.

"Yep! Not bad for our first mission, huh?"he asked. I nodded as Zapperton hit his own palm.

"Heh! Those suckers didn't stand a chance against us, see?"he said, smirking as he looked through his "loot bag," as he called it. Yeah, we hadn't managed to get rid of his thieving habit, but at least he only stole from the bad guys. I turned my attention to the pokemon we had freed. They consisted of a few Lanturn, a Tentacruel, and surprisingly, a Milotic.

"So, how are you all doing?"I asked them.

"I could be better,"the Tentacruel said gruffly."But I'm glad I don't have to deal with those psycho humans anymore. Thanks for the help, kid."The Tentacruel then swam off.

"Yeah, thanks a lot!"the Lanturne chirped in unison, they swam away as well. I then looked at the Milotic, who quickly looked away with a blush. Had she been staring at me?

"How about you?"I asked. She blushed even redder. I raised an eyebrow, then looked at my team. Anubis and Fang shrugged, while Zaps grinned at me knowingly. I narrowed my eyes. 'What are you thinking, Zaps?'I asked him telepathically. He just grinned wider. I looked back at the Tender pokemon, then walked over to her, crouching down next to the river.

"What's your name?"I asked.

"I'm...Mystica,"she said, her voice sounding very beautiful. It actually relaxed me to just hear it."Can you...understand me?"

"That's right,"I told her."Are you hurt?"

"Well, yes, I'm a bit sore,"she said.

"Hmm, let me see if I've got something that,"I said, putting my backpack on the ground and rummaging through it. I pulled out a few different berries and a bowl and pestle. I put the berries in the bowl and started mashing them together, mixing the berries into a small stew. When I felt they were mixed up enough, I ignited a small fire in my hands and held the bowl just above it with telekinesis. I noticed her staring at my little 'magic act' in amazement. After about 10 seconds, I clenched my fist, putting the fire out. I grabbed the bowl and held it out to her."This should help with any sore muscles you may have."She just looked at me, still blushing."Well? Take it."

"Um, I can't..."she said timidly.

"Why not?"I asked, confused.

"Boss, she doesn't have limbs,"I heard Zaps say rather flatly.

"...I knew that,"I said quietly, mentally slapping myself for my stupidity. The bowl floated out of my hand as I used my telekinesis again, bringing the bowl up to her. She sipped the berry stew from the bowl silently, occasionally taking glances at me. When she was done, I brought the bowl back over to myself, putting it and the pestle in my backpack. I slipped it back on."Feeling any better?"She smiled and nodded.

"Yes, it's already starting to work!"she said happily."How did you know how to make that?"

"I trained under Shaymin for a while,"I said dismissively, shrugging my shoulders to adjust my backpack.

"You've trained under the Great Healer!?"Mystica asked, eyes wide.

"How strange. I thought that was just a human nickname,"a new voice spoke. We all turned our heads to see Shaymin walking up to us. I heard Mystica, along with Fang, gasp in shock.

"Oh my,"Mystica said softly, eyes wide.

"Cool..."I heard Fang mutter.

"I see you've remembered my lessons rather well after all this time,"Shaymin told me.

"Hey, I had a good teacher,"I said as my team walked up to us. I looked back at Mystica."Now, what do you say we help you find your trainer?" She just blinked at me.

"I don't have a trainer,"she said as if it was obvious. I tilted my head.

"But what about the collar on your neck?"I asked, pointing at the accessory I had noticed a few minutes ago.

"Those horrible people put this on me when they captured me,"she said sadly."It has spikes in it that are digging into my neck."

"That sounds _painful_,"Anubis muttered.

"It's a control collar, I'm afraid,"Shaymin said sadly."They use these to torture any pokemon they capture."

"Why?"Fang asked. Shaymin sighed.

"Simply for their own twisted pleasure,"she said, frowning deeply.

"That's just messed up, see?"I heard Zaps mutter.

"How do we get it off?"I asked the Gratitude Pokemon.

"It's electronic. You either need a code to deactivate it, or hack it,"Shaymin said. I rubbed my head.

"Well, that's a problem, 'cause I'm not that tech savvy,"I muttered."And even if I was, I don't have a computer."

"Heh, no sweat, boss,"Zaps said, gaining our attention. I saw him grin, holding up a finger crackling with electricity."I'll just fry the thing, see?"

"That's not a good idea,"Shaymin said quickly."You might overload the collar, which would make it explode and kill her."I looked back at Zaps, who now had a stunned look on his face.

"And even if it didn't explode, the electricity alone might hurt her very badly,"I added. The Electabuzz slowly, and wisely, backed away, cautiously bringing his arm down to his side. I looked back at Shaymin."Can you think of any other way to get it off?"She shook her head sadly, and I groaned in annoyance.

"Can we help!?"a slightly familiar voice asked excitedly. We all turned our heads to see the Porygon I had seen earlier. The Porygon floated up to us, looking through us for a moment. It waved it's arm happily."Hiiii!!"Something seemed rather strange about it. It sounded very excited and happy, almost insanely so. I also sensed something familiar about it, just like when we had met Zaps and Fang. The Porygon floated past me and up to Mystica, who tilted her head. The Porygon copied her movement, then something that looked like a metal tongue dripped out of where it's mouth would be if it had one.

"How exactly are you going to help?"I asked cautiously, not knowing what to expect."And who's we?"To our surprise, the Porygon's eyes suddenly inverted color, becoming black with white pupils.

"Madam, please raise your head,"it said in an older voice, now sounding very calm. Mystica looked at us with a raised eyebrow. Not knowing what was happening ourselves, we just shrugged. She looked back at the Porygon, then did as it said. The Porygon raised it's left arm and pointed at the collar. It's body started whirring strangely."Hmm, a simple 4-pass beta key encryption?"It's eyes became white for a moment.

"Noobs,"It muttered in a child's voice before it's eyes inverted again. After a few more seconds, it spoke in an older voice once more.

"Madam, please brace yourself,"it said, then it's eyes became white again.

"It's gonna be a biiiiiiiiiig ouchie!"it said with a child's voice. It's eyes inverted _again_, and Mystica seemed to tense up.

"Reducing toxin flow to zero,"it said.

"Retracting injection points!"it said cheerfully. Mystica winced in pain."Aaaaand done!"The collar opened and popped off, revealing two holes on either side of the Milotic's neck. I quickly caught the collar before it fell into the water."YAYNOWWEGONNAFLYWHEEEEEEEE!!"The Porygon started flying around randomly at high speed. It wasn't as fast as Zaps could run, but it was still pretty fast.

"I think this guy's taken way too many hits to the noggin,"Anubis said, tapping his own head for emphasis. We all nodded in agreement. We looked back at Mystica, who had her eyes closed in concentration. The holes on her neck glowed for a moment before mending themselves.

"You know recover? Nice,"I told her. She blushed again.

"OOF!"We all turned to see that the Porygon had slammed right into a tree. We watched on in confusion as it slowly slid to the ground, eyes spinning. The Virtual pokemon giggled insanely as it floated back up, then suddenly straightened itself out as it's eyes became black. The Porygon calmly floated over to us.

"Please forgive my other half's little outburst,"it said in a mature voice. It bowed it's head."Allow us to introduce ourselves. This Unit is COREM: Core OverRide Electron Module. A pleasure to meet you."It's eyes became white.

"And I'mma Zephyr!"it said in a child's voice again. I raised an eyebrow.

"Does that stand for anything?"I asked, curious. The Porygon drooped, tongue sticking out.

"I don't know..."Zephyr said slowly. We all just stared at it. Suddenly, it's head started spinning at high speed as it screamed and laughed happily. We looked amongst ourselves.

"This guy's a total nut job, see?"Zaps said, twirling his finger in a circle near his head.

"I think it's kind of cute,"Mystica said with a giggle.

"Yeah, cute in a psychotic kinda way,"Fang muttered.

"But he's a computer program. It's impossible for him to suffer from mental problems,"I pointed out."Unless..."I blinked once."Unless he's somehow sentient."We looked back at the Porygon, who's eyes inverted before it's head stopped.

"Zephyr, how many times must I tell you not to do that!?"COREM asked, sounding exasperated."You'll ruin our CPU!"His eyes shifted.

"But it's fuuuuun,"Zephyr whined. I cleared my throat, gaining their attention.

"You mind telling us your story?"I asked calmly. Zephyr nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, yeah!"he said happily, then his eyes narrowed."This is a story of mystery, intrigue, romance, and NINJAS! _Lots_ and _lots_ of ninjas!"His eyes shifted.

"Ignore him,"COREM said curtly."Allow me to explain the _actual_ story."

COREM then told us of how a computer error occured when their creator first made them. They're creator was trying to create the first sentient computer programs, and they were the result. However, the system they were on was corrupted by the Chrome Syndicate, who wanted the two for themselves. Due to this, they were uploaded into the same physical body by mistake, and were then captured. But Zephyr's programming had been corrupted during the process, and he began acting so erratic that the Chrome Syndicate became angry with them before finally locking their combined consciousness within a highly secured computer in the base we had just raided. Apparently, I had unknowingly freed them from the computer when I activated the self-destruct sequence.

"And that is why we have come here,"COREM finished."To repay you for freeing us from that blasted computer."

"Huh,"I said, scratching my chin."Do you know what they wanted you for?"COREM shook his head.

"I'm afraid not,"he said."Like I said, the computer we were locked in was highly secured. Though we probably would have been able to escape had they not put us into sleep mode."His eyes shifted.

"Yeah, it really stunk,"Zephyr said."Thanks for getting us outta there, mister...uh...wait."He tilted his head."Who is you?"

"Yes, I was going to ask the same thing,"Mystica said.

"This young man is Ken Woods,"Shaymin introduced me."He is Arceus' chosen one."

"Wait, Arceus!?"COREM asked."Is that not the same being who created the world!?"

"The very same,"Shaymin said with a nod."He has chosen Ken to stop the Chrome Syndicate."

"What do those horrible humans want, anyway?"Mystica asked with a frown. Shaymin, my team, and I looked amongst each other. I cracked my jaw and told them. They took it about as well as Zaps and Fang had."EXCUSE ME!?"

"WHAA-!?"Zephyr shouted."That's horrible!"

"Zephyr, we already knew what their intentions were,"COREM said, sounding annoyed.

"...Oh, yeaaah,"Zephyr mumbled. I smacked my forehead, then looked at Shaymin.

"By the way, why are you here, Shaymin?"I asked.

"I was just here to check up on you,"she said, then looked at Zephyr/COREM. Wow, that was going to get confusing."I think you've already learned that these two, that is, Zephyr and COREM, are the next member of your team."

"Yeah, I figured as much,"I remarked.

"But...what about me?"We looked at Mystica."I-I'd like to stay with you, too. Do we really have to part ways?"I looked back at Shaymin.

"What do you think?"I asked. She frowned.

"No, I'm afraid she can't travel with you,"she said. I looked back at Mystica, who seemed very saddened."However..."We all looked back at her."I recall Mesprit telling me that you made a comment about Dialga and Palkia when you first saw them fight back at the hidden city. You said that a Milotic's singing might be able to calm them down whenever they get too riled up. So, if Mystica is willing to, she could come and live in the city's lake. That way, whenever Dialga and Palkia have one of their little spats, she can sing to calm them down."She looked at the Milotic."Would you say you're a good singer, Mystica?"She blushed.

"Well, maybe,"she said."I can sing, but I don't think I'm that good. But how will that let us see each other?"

"We have meetings at the hidden city every four weeks,"I told her."I'll bet you're pretty good. Let's hear it."She blushed again.

"Well, alright,"she mumbled, then cleared her throat. She closed her eyes and began to sing beautifully, her voice sounding like crystal bells. It was incredibly relaxing. As she continued, I heard a thud behind me, followed by snickering. I looked over my shoulder to see a rather humorous sight. Zaps was now lying asleep on the ground, snoring loudly. Anubis, Zephyr, and Fang were snickering hysterically, looking like they were about burst with laughter. I looked back at Mystica.

"I think you can stop now,"I said calmly, smiling. Mystica stopped her singing and opened her eyes curiously. I motioned towards the snoozing Electabuzz. The three other members of my team fell over, laughing hysterically.

"Did I do that...?"Mystica asked, eyes wide in astonishment.

"If you can put that hothead to sleep, I can't wait to see you sing to Dialga and Palkia,"I said with a grin.

"Well, I guess that settles it,"Shaymin said with a chuckle.

XXXX

**The Reserved Mind**

We had gotten the badge from "Crasher" Wake the other day; and had gotten the Cobble Badge from Maylene before that. During that time, Anubis and Fang had evolved, much to their own delight. After seeing Maylene's Lucario, he had just gotten so psyched up that he evolved right then and there. And Fang had evolved during a raid on another Chrome Syndicate base. Now the top of his ears could reach my neck, and his wingspan was longer than I am!

At the moment, we were on our way back to Jubilife City to reach Canalave, but...

"We're lost, aren't we?"Anubis asked sourly.

"No, we just...don't know where we are right now,"I muttered.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"...Shut up, Fang."

"Do you know what route we're on?"COREM asked.

"I think we're on Route 212,"I said, staring at the map. COREM floated over, and I showed it to him.

He paused for a moment."Ken, you're holding it sideways."I blinked, then tilted my head to the side.

"Huh. So I am,"I muttered embarrassedly, turning the map in my hands.

"Now you're holding it upside down!"Zephyr said happily, flipping upside down as well.

"Dammit,"I muttered, flipping it completely. COREM flipped right-side up and looked at it again.

"Hmm, it seems we're actually on Route 205,"he said.

"Say what!?"I asked."But-but-but that means we skipped two cities AND Mount Coronet without even noticing it!"

"Looks like we were that damn lost,"Zaps said.

"Well, now we need to go south to reach Canalave, but which way is that?"I asked. We looked amongst ourselves, none of us knowing the answer.

'Excuse me,'a voice spoke telepathically, startling me.

"Who said that?"I asked quickly.

"Who said what?"Anubis asked me.

"I thought I heard somebody say something telepathically,"I said, looking around."Maybe I just imagined it..."

'Hm hm hm. How amusing,'the voice said, surprising me again.'I assure you, sir, I am not a part of you're imagination.'

"Where are you?"I asked, looking around and trying to sense who it was.

"Hey, boss. Is that who you're talking to?"Zaps asked, pointing behind me. I turned around to see an Alakazam walk up to us.

"Are you the one who was just talking to me?"I asked. He nodded.

'That is correct, sir,'he said telepathically.'Tell me, are you Ken Woods?'I nodded.

"Yeah, who are you?"I asked, feeling the same sense I had felt with all my other teammates.

"Good, then I don't have to speak telepathically,"he said."My name is Psyche. I am here to join your team and aide you against the Chrome Syndicate."I stumbled back in surprise.

"Whoa! Slow down for a minute, okay?"I asked, holding my hands up. He paused, then shook his head.

"Oh, of course. I apologize for my rudeness,"he said politely."Please, take a moment to discuss this amongst yourselves."He walked over to a tree and sitting near it cross legged, eyes closed. I held my forehead, looking at the others, who seemed just as surprised as I was.

"What do you think, boss?"Zaps asked."Think this guy is on the level?"

"I think so,"I admitted."I get the same feeling from him as I did whenever I met one of you guys."

"Really? What does that feel like?"Zephyr asked."Does it feel like you need to toot? I wish we could toot, but we don't have any organs."I decided to ignore that remark, looking at the Psychic from over my shoulder.

"I want to know how he knows everything like he's been travelling with us since day one,"I said. We all walked over to Psyche, who opened his eyes, a placid smile on his face.

"Yes?"he asked.

"All right, I want to know how you know everything about us,"I said.

"Very well,"he said, then spread his arms out."Please, sit."We all sat in front of him.

He then told us of how he had travelled across world, all the way from Kanto, which was really incredible. He was an orphan, his mother dying of some unknown disease. He had began travelling when he evolved into a Kadabra. He had apparently searched the globe, training his mind, studying about the world, and trying to find his reason for being. He evolved into an Alazakam upon reaching Sinnoh, and took it as a sign that he was meant to be here. He had climbed to the top of Mount Coronet and meditated there for a month; until finally hearing a voice that told him of what we did, and that he was needed to help save the world. He firmly believed that it was Arceus himself who had told him everything.

"After all, who else would know about an Alakazam meditating on top of a mountian?"he asked with a chuckle. I nodded.

"Good point,"I agreed."Personally, I think it really _was_ Arceus. I've seen him with my own eyes."He tilted his head.

"Truly?"he asked."That must be quite a sight."

"You don't have a clue, pal,"Fang remarked.

"Well, then,"Psyche said, standing up, us following suite."I believe you said you were heading to Canalave. I've been there before. Shall I teleport us there?"

XXXX

**The Dark Spirit**

We were now in the Hidden City, having just finished a meeting. Before arriving here, we had gotten the Glacier Badge. On the way there, ZC, that is, Zephyr and COREM, had found a strange disc in Celestic Town. When Zephyr downloaded it's content out of sheer curiousity, they evolved into Porygon2. We had also passed by Lake Acuity to say hi to Uxie, where Zapperton had evolved again when he had seen a group of Sneasel, thinking they might have had his family heirloom, dragging us all into a huge fight with them. I had scolded him, but he was too happy about his evolution to listen, and now he was even _faster_, despite his bulk.

At the moment, we were all conversing in the mess hall. My team and I were sitting with Mew, Celebi, and the Latis.

"So, you only need one more badge, huh?"Latios asked me.

"Yep. Then we'll be set for the Sinnoh championships,"I said with a nod. I quickly turned my head and sneezed into my arm."Ugh. Sorry about that. Travelling through knee-deep snow in the middle of a blizzard will do that to ya."

"Bit of a head cold, huh?"Mew asked."Want some hot cocoa or something?"I held up my glass.

"That's kind of what I'm drinking,"I said with a chuckle. We all laughed a bit. I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye, then turned my head to the entrance to see Mystica slithering over to us."Hey, Myst. Something wrong?"I asked, deliberately using the nickname we had given her.

"I'm not sure,"she said."Everyone's gathered around something near the center of the city."We looked amongst ourselves.

"Well, this should be interesting,"Anubis said as we all stood up and left the building. We eventually reached the center, seeing everyone looking at something that was apparently on the ground. We managed to push our way through to see...

A small rock.

"_This_ is what's got everyone's attention?"I asked, staring at the strange stone. It looked as if there was a simple face carved on it. I looked amongst the others."Anyone know what this thing is?"

"I believe it's called an Odd Keystone,"Uxie remarked, staring at the stone with closed eyelids."They were used in ancient times to trap evil or mischievious spirits. 108 to be precise. They are capable of creating the pokemon Spiritomb."

"Are there any spirits in this one?"Deoxys asked.

"Yes, I can sense them,"Giratina said."Three guesses how many, and the first two don't count."

"5?"Zephyr guessed."Eleventy 3? 108?"

"Ladies and gentlemon, we have a winner!"I shouted, pointing at ZC and earning a round of laughs."Zephyr, go touch it."I jabbed a thumb at the stone.

"YAAAAAAY!"Zephyr screamed happily, darting past me while giggling insanely, but then he paused.

"W-wait a moment!"COREM said frightfully."Don't I get a say in this!?"

"Nope,"absolutely everyone chorused.

"Imma touch it, now!"Zephyr shouted. He floated over to the stone and held his arm forward, tapping the stone once. Nothing happened. He tapped it again. Still nothing. Zephyr looked at it closely, his nose touching it. The stone shook once. Zephyr screeched and flew away at high speed, dashing right into my jacket. I sighed irritably, grabbing him by the tail and yanking him out. The little pokemon flailed around frantically, but immediately stopped and floated up straight.

"You can let go of us, now,"COREM said calmly, though with a hint of annoyance. I released his tail and looked away from him, noticing everyone staring at us with raised eyebrows.

"Weren't you looking at the stone?"I asked rhetorically. We all looked back at the stone, which was now shaking back and forth violently. Without warning, a strange, purple mist leaked out of the stone, dotted by small, green lights. Then, a pair of eyes formed, one of them normal and the other constantly swirling. Finally, a weird, zigzagging mouth appeared under the eyes. The strange creature looked around with a shocked expression.

"AAAGH!! WE ARE INNOCENT!!"it screamed fearfully, receding back into the stone."WE SWEAR WE ARE INNOCENT! WE WERE ALL FRAMED!!"We all looked amongst ourselves with wierded out expressions.

"What the heck was that all about?"Anubis asked. Cresselia slowly floated towards the stone.

"Spirits, please stay calm,"she said gently."You are not here to be judged nor punished. In fact, we're not sure how or why you're here. Will you please come out and speak with us?"Slowly, hesitantly, the creature came back out, looking around cautiously."Now, tell us, do you know how you got here?"

"N-no,"it stuttered, it's voice sounding like many different voices blended together. Made sense, I suppose."We were just sleeping peacefully, then something awoke us."We all glanced at Zephyr for a moment, causing him to shrink back in embarrassment. We all looked back at the Spiritomb."And then we saw all of you, and we thought you were going to punish us..."We all looked around. I didn't have a clue what was going on, and apparently, neither did they. I blinked as I looked through them. I noticed there was only one Legendary that wasn't here.

"Wait a minute,"I said, gaining everyone's attention. I crossed my arms."Where's Arceus?"They all looked around, also noticing our leader wasn't here.

"Hello, everyone,"a new voice said, we all looked in the same direction to see Arceus calmly walking towards the group. The Legendaries quickly formed an opening for him to walk through. I noticed the Spiritomb staring up at him with it's jaw on the ground. If he wasn't a spirit, I'd say that looks painful.

"Spiritomb,"Arceus said calmly."I know that none of you commited the crimes you were accused of."The Spiritomb said nothing."But there is something that you must do."He looked straight at me, and the Spiritomb did the same. Just like before, I felt the same sense that I had felt with all the other members of my team."That human's name is Ken. He is currently aiding us against a group of criminals who want all of us pokemon destroyed."The Spiritomb blinked. Arceus looked through all of the Legendaries."Everyone. Listen very closely. What I'm about to tell you may be beyond any of your belief."Obviously, this caught us all by surprise."But I assure you that it is nothing short of the truth."The Legendaries looked amongst themselves, as I did with my team."Within the Chrome Syndicate are an elite squadron of 108 of the top members."My jaw dropped.

"No way..."I mouthed, already figuring it out.

"These particular members are the very reincarnations of the blackhearted ciminals who framed every last soul within this Spiritomb,"he said. Gasps of shock came from everyone.

"That's incredible,"Anubis whispered to me.

"Holy shit..."I heard Zapperton breathe out.

"Whoa,"was all Fang said.

"The odds of this being mere chance are inconceivable!"COREM said in shock. Zephyr made no outbursts.

"Agreed. This cannot be a simple coincidence,"Psyche said.

"As you are aware, this body is only a branch of my true power and conciousness,"Arceus continued."So, how this has happened, even _I_ do not know. But we must continue to fight despite this knowledge. We cannot allow them to fulfill their goals, as it would be the same as letting them destroy the world we cherish so much."

"Hmph, it goes without saying,"Mewtwo said, gaining everyone's attention. He spoke in a voice colder than I had ever heard before. "We must completely destroy the Syndicate. No questions asked."Mew floated over to him, sitting on his shoulder.

"There's no way we'll let them do what they want,"she said seriously. Celebi and Jirachi floated up next to her.

"We'll defeat them, no matter what,"Celebi said.

"It doesn't matter how many troops they have, we'll beat anything they throw at us!"Jirachi said determinedly. I saw Dialga and Palkia look at each other.

"You know, we argue on a lot of things,"Dialga said.

"But I think we can agree that these guys have got to go,"Palkia said with a nod. Giratina seemed to smile at her brothers.

"At least there's one thing we can agree on,"she said. Everyone began saying their own words of encouragement amongst themselves. Arceus looked straight at me.

"And you, Ken?"he asked, causing everyone to look at me. I looked over my shoulder at my team.

"What do you say, guys?"I asked. Anubis smiled.

"Hey, we didn't agree to help just to turn our backs to them now,"he said. I looked at Zaps, who smashed his fists together, electricity crackling fiercely between his tails.

"Those punks are gonna regret crossing the great Spark Thief, see?"he said with a grin. I looked at Fang.

"It'd be pretty stupid to just let 'em go around doin' whatever they fancy,"he said, shrugging. I looked at ZC.

"We gonna make all the bad guys go BOOM!"Zephyr said with a laugh.

"For once, we are in agreement, Zephyr,"COREM said. I looked at Psyche.

"I usually loathe violence,"he said calmly."But these humans are so appalling that they simply must die."I turned to look at the Spiritomb, who was staring back at me.

"And you?"

The Spiritomb floated over to me."We want justice. We will fight alongside you to find it. Though we have many names, you may call us Wrath."

I looked back at Arceus.

"Then it's unanimous. We'll demolish the Chrome Syndicate. That's all there is to it."

XXXX

End of Chapter

It's official. This is the best and longest chapter I have ever written.

All I can say now is review.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, you people want action? Here it is.

Chapter 7:Championship Bout

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's the moment you've all been waiting for!"

The crowd started cheering wildly, though whether it was for us or our opponent, I would never know.

"After defeating the elite four, the challenger has reached the Champion of Sinnoh! Give it up for Ken Woods from Twinleaf Town!"

That's right. We had finally gotten to the Sinnoh League. After all this time, we were now facing down Cynthia, the Champion. After beating Volkner, ZC had found and downloaded another strange disc in Sunyshore, and had evolved into Porygon-Z. Then we had headed north and reached the Sinnoh Pokemon League.

"This will be a six-on-six pokemon battle between the challenger, Ken Woods, and the Champion, Cynthia,"the referee said, who we'll call Bob."The first team to knock out all the pokemon on the opposing team wins. Are the trainers ready?"

"We didn't come all this way just to wimp out now,"I said calmly, snapping my goggles over my eyes.

"I like that composure,"Cynthia told me, holding up a pokeball."But can you keep it up in this battle?"

"I can try,"I said, shrugging.

"Alright then,"Bob said."The champion will choose her pokemon first."

"Spiritomb, let's go!"Cynthia shouted, throwing a pokeball forward, releasing her Spiritomb. I stroked my chin.

"Hmm,"I looked over my shoulder, seeing my team behind me."Anubis, you're up."The Lucario grinned and ran past me, standing at his spot on the stage. Abruptly, the crowd started laughing.

"What's this? The challenger has sent out a fighting type against Spiritomb! Does he have a fever or something?"The crowd laughed louder. I rolled my eyes, ignoring them. They'd shut up soon enough.

"Interesting choice,"Cynthia commented."You must have a trick up your sleeve to send out a Lucario against a ghost type."I nodded, then looked at Bob, who was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You gonna stare at me all day or can we start already?"I asked rhetorically. He looked away, shrugging.

"Begin!"he shouted, raising his flags.

"Spiritomb, Will-O-Wisp!"Cynthia shouted. Wisps of eerie, blue flames appeared around Spiritomb for a moment before shooting towards Anubis.

"Dodge it with Extreme Speed!"I shouted. He immediately shot to the left, dodging the attack with ease."Now run in a circle around Spiritomb!"He proceeded to do just that, turning into a blue blur around the Spiritomb.

"That won't work on us,"Cynthia said."Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!"A black ring of energy formed around Spiritomb, then shot in all directions.

"Jump as high as you can!"I shouted. Anubis stopped for a fraction of a second before leaping into the air at least 10 feet as the Dark Pulse flew by."Force Palm!"Anubis' fist glowed as he reached the peak of his jump. Cynthia said nothing as he began to descend, probably figuring Anubis wouldn't be able to do anything.

Big mistake.

"Use foresight!"I shouted.

"What!?"Cynthia asked as Anubis' eyes glowed."Spiritomb--!"Too late. Anubis smashed his paw into her Spiritomb at full force, creating a small explosion that shielded them from everyone's view but my own. Arceus, I loved these goggles. Everyone gasped when the explosion died down, seeing that Spiritomb was on the ground, knocked out, while Anubis was standing without a scratch. Panting a little bit, but unharmed. The crowd was silent, and I couldn't help but smile smugly, glad to have shut them up. I glanced at Bob, who also looked stunned.

"I don't think Spiritomb can battle anymore,"I said with a chuckle, snapping him out of it.

"Uh...Spiritomb is unable to battle!"he said, then raised my flag."Anubis wins this round!"The crowd began to cheer hesitantly, but eventually started roaring with applause.

"Incredible!"the announcer exclaimed."When Anubis used foresight, it had exposed Spiritomb's dark typing, allowing him to take Spiritomb out in a single shot!"

"Great job!"Cynthia told me as she recalled her Spiritomb."I figured you would use foresight, but I never expected you to use it _after_ calling an attack."

"I think you'll find that I'm more cunning than most challengers,"I said calmly.

"It's been a while since I've faced a tough opponent,"she said."But that's no excuse for letting my guard down. It won't happen again. Go!"She threw out another pokeball, letting out a Roserade.

"Anubis, come back here and rest,"I said. He looked back at me with a frown.

"Aw, do I have to? I can take her!"he said, pointing a paw at the Roserade.

"I don't want you to tire yourself out,"I told him, motioning for him to come back with my hand. He groaned and walked back to the other, giving me an annoyed look as he passed by. I just shook my head, chuckling. I looked at the others."Your turn, Psyche."

"Excellent,"he said with a smile, walking past me and standing where Anubis was not too long ago.

"Be careful though,"I warned him."She's not the Champion for no reason. I'm sure that Roserade has something to cover it's psychic type weakness."He nodded.

"Agreed. l will not let my guard down,"he said calmly. He then bowed to the Roserade."Good luck to you, madam."Roserade giggled.

"Why, thank you, sir,"she said with a curtsy."Good luck to you, too."I noticed Cynthia smile.

"It seems that our pokemon are showing quite a bit of politeness,"she remarked.

"I hope that doesn't mean we have to hold back,"I joked.

"Not a chance,"Cynthia said, smirking. Bob raised his flags.

"Begin!"

"Roserade, shadow ball!"Cynthia shouted. Roserade held her 'hands' together, forming a black ball of energy and firing at Psyche.

"Whoa, light screen!"I shouted. Psyche quickly crossed his spoons, forming a yellow shield just in time to block the attack. Psyche let his spoons down as the smoke started to clear."Okay, didn't expect you to do that right off the bat."When the smoke cleared, I saw that Roserade was gone."What--where'd she go!?"

"Solar beam!"Cynthia shouted. Psyche must have sensed where she was, because he looked up in time to see a massive yellow-white beam crash into him from above. He screamed in pain as the beam engulfed him.

"What the--!?"I quickly looked up as the attack ended, seeing Roserade fall to the ground, gracefully landing on her feet. Psyche grunted as he tried to stay steady."How did she charge that up so fast!?"

"Roserade has trained enough to the point where she can fire a solar beam almost instantly,"Cynthia explained.

"I guess that's why you're the Champion,"I muttered, then looked at Psyche, who was sagging in his posture."You okay?"

"That was a very powerful attack,"Psyche muttered, then straightened up."But I refuse to go down that easily."

"You're Alakazam is pretty strong to be standing after a direct hit from Solar Beam,"Cynthia said."But it won't be standing for long. Use shadow ball!"Roserade quickly fired off another black ball of energy.

"If that hits, you're done for! Teleport!"I shouted. Psyche nodded, then disappeared in a flash, the projectile passing by harmlessly. Roserade looked around quickly, but didn't notice Psyche reappearing just two feet behind her."Psychic!"

"Behind you!"Cynthia shouted. Roserade turned just in time to see Psyche's eyes glow as he utilized psychic, picking the grass type up off the ground.

"Forgive me for this, madam,"he said, throwing his arm sideways and hurling Roserade towards the wall at high speed.

"Shadow ball!"Cynthia shouted. Roserade fired off another shadow ball at Psyche, who was too weak to get out of the way, and was blasted at the same time Roserade hit the wall. They were both knocked out in unison.

"Whoa,"I muttered, stunned at this turn of events. Bob raised both flags.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle!"he said."This round is a draw."The crowd cheered with excitement.

"Wow! That certainly doesn't happen often!"the announcer remarked.

"That was intense,"I said with a grin, pulling out Psyche's pokeball. Fortunately, he actually enjoyed being in it, saying that it was nice and quiet."Return, Psyche!"The red beam shot out of it, connecting with the Alakazam before pulling him into it."Take a good long rest. You deserve it."I watched as Cynthia returned her Roserade, a large smile on her face.

"That was a good battle,"she said."I hope you can keep that up. This is getting fun!"She threw out another pokeball, releasing a Lucario, to my surprise. I looked over my shoulder.

"I'm probably a nut for doing this, but Anubis, you think you can handle this one?"I asked. He nodded and stood up, smiling as he walked into position. He and Cynthia's Lucario stared each other down.

"I got a lot of experience, kid,"Lucario said."You really think you can take me on?"

"Only one way to find out,"Anubis remarked, standing in a fighting pose. Lucario did the same.

"Begin!"

The two charged without me or Cynthia saying a word, punching and dodging each other at high speed, neither side letting up an inch.

"Okay, that's interesting,"I muttered as Anubis ducked under a force palm.

"What do you say we let them handle themselves?"Cynthia suggested as her Lucario jumped to dodge a sweep kick. I nodded in reply.

"Just what I was thinking,"I agreed. We watched as the two continued to fight, every blow being either dodged or deflected. After a while of this, it started to look more like they were dancing rather than fighting. Eventually, they jumped away from each other, readying aura spheres. They both flung their projectiles forward, the two orbs colliding in a powerful explosion. The two ran forward as the explosion died down. Anubis threw a force palm forward, but Lucario ducked under it and nailed Anubis in the chin with a Sky Uppercut, sending him straight up into the air. Lucario jumped up to land another attack. But then, Anubis' foot ignited in flames and he spun in midair as Lucario reached him, his foot colliding with Lucario's head, and sending him spiraling back down, body smoking slightly as he crash-landed. Anubis landed a few feet away as Lucario got up into a kneeling position, his fur singed. Anubis kneeled as well.

"Your Lucario knows Blaze Kick?"Cynthia asked, sounding impressed.

"Apparently,"I said with an awkward shrug. How was it that after all this time, he would use a move like that for the championship? Would've been nice if he had done it earlier, but I guess it's better late than never.

"Kid, you're not half-bad,"Lucario said as he stood up. Anubis did the same.

"Same to you,"he said with a grin.

"What do you say we finish this?"

"Let's."They're fists glowed as they readied force palm. They ran forward with Extreme Speed, so the two shot past each other before anyone could even blink.

For a few moments, the stadium was completely silent. But finally, they turned to face each other, sagging.

"We missed, didn't we?"Lucario asked sourly.

"I think so,"Anubis muttered mareepishly. I stared blankly. Another moment of silence, then Cynthia blinked.

"Did they miss?"she asked, eyes wide.

"Yes, yes they did,"I said flatly. Everyone in the stadium facefaulted. I heard Zapperton, Fang, Zephyr, and even Wrath laughing hysterically behind me.

"Wanna just pass out in unison?"Anubis asked.

"Sure,"Lucario said. They both did just that, hitting the ground at the same time.

"Err...I'm not sure what to say about this..."Bob muttered. He shrugged."Ah, what the hell? Both pokemon are unable to battle! This round is a draw as well!"No one cheered. No one said anything as we recalled our pokemon.

"Well...that was anti-climactic,"the announcer muttered. Cynthia shook her head.

"That was very strange,"she said, pulling out another pokeball."Let's just put it behind us, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's do that,"I muttered. She tossed the sphere, revealing a Milotic. I turned to look at the remainder of my team.

"Zaps, it's showtime,"I said. He grinned and ran past me, twin tails crackling as he faced the Milotic down.

"Nothing personal, lady,"Zaps told her."But the boss needs me to take you down so we can become champions, see?"She nodded.

"Yes, I know that,"she said calmly."But don't you dare underestimate me just because I'm a female. Am I understood?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, ma'am,"Zaps said, cracking his knuckles.

"Begin!"

"Milotic, Hydro Pump!"Cynthia yelled. The serpent then fired a HUGE stream of water from her mouth.

"Dodge it!"I shouted.

"Time to am-scray!"Zaps yelled, running to the side at full speed. I noticed Cynthia's eyes widened. I guess she didn't expect something of Zaps' bulk to move that fast.

"Follow him, Milotic!"she shouted, regaining her composure immediately. Milotic began to turn her head, the stream chasing Zapperton as he ran around the field like a maniac, trying not to get slammed by the intense jet. Or maybe he didn't want to get his fur soaked. After a few more seconds, Cynthia had Milotic cut off the attack, much to Zaps' and my relief."Ice Beam!"

Crud.

"YAAAAAAAAAHH!!"Zap's shouted, immediately taking off again as the beam of icy energy chase after him, obviously wanting not to get frozen. But then I noticed something. Milotic's aim seemed a bit off. She seemed to be aiming low, as if trying to hit his feet. But then I noticed something that made my eyes widened in horror.

The water on the ground from Hydro Pump was starting to freeze.

"Oh, crap!"I shouted."Zap's, you have to counterattack before--!"Too late. The ground was now frozen in a layer of ice. Zapperton looked around, realizing that he was in trouble. We had this same problem in Snowpoint Gym. Even with all the agility he had, Zaps was hopeless on ice.

"Uhh, boss?"he asked, looking at me for an answer. I scratched my head, trying to think of something.

"Just as I thought,"Cynthia said, gaining my attention."Your Electivire is fast, I'll give you that. But even the fastest pokemon can't do well if they don't have enough traction to move. Milotic, use Hydro Pump!"

"Brace yourself!"I shouted. Zaps quickly crossed his arms just before the jet stream slammed into him, shoving him into the wall.

"I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS, BOSS!"Zaps shouted over the rushing water. I looked back and forth a few times, an idea forming in my head.

"Put your tails in the stream and use discharge!"I yelled.

"You got it!"he said, holding his tails in front of him and releasing a massive current of electricity through the jet.

"Milotic, stop!"Cynthia shouted. Unfortunately for her, the Tender pokemon couldn't cut the attack off fast enough to keep from getting shocked. Zaps sighed, glad to be relieved of the intense pressure. But now his fur was completely soaked, which would probably hinder his speed. Not that it mattered at the moment, since the field was still covered in ice."Milotic, finish this with Ice Beam!"My mind raced for a solution as she said this, then I noticed that water from the previous Hydro Pump was still in a line between Zaps and Milotic.

"Use Thunder Punch on the ground in front of you!"

"If you say so!"Zaps said, electrifying his fist before punching the ground. The electricity travelled along the stream as Milotic fired her attack."Now get down and use your tails to push away from the wall!"He did just that, sliding right under the beam as Milotic was shocked again."Cross Chop!"Zaps' arms glowed as he crossed them in front of his face, still sliding towards Milotic.

"Brace yourself, Milotic,"Cynthia said calmly. Both of us knew Milotic wouldn't be able to dodge; or stay conscious, for that matter. Zaps swung his arms as he slammed into Milotic, knocking her out in an instant.

"Milotic is unable to battle! Electivire wins this round!"Bob shouted, raising my flag. The crowd went nuts again as Milotic was recalled.

"I really need to teach you how to skate, Zaps,"I said as he slipped back over to me rather clumsily.

"I wouldn't mind that, boss,"Zaps muttered as he thankfully left the ice."That was embarrassing, see?"

"That was a great move you pulled off,"Cynthia said, taking out yet another pokeball."A good trainer always need to know how to adapt to any situation. Go!"She hurled the sphere, releasing a Togekiss. I raised an eyebrow.

"Using a flyer, huh?"I asked, looking over my shoulder."Then so will we. Fang, you're up."

"Sweet!"he shouted, flying over my head. The size difference between them was comical, Fang's huge, almost menacing appearance dwarfed the Togekiss, who was barely half his size.

"You're Gliscor is incredible,"Cynthia remarked."I've never seen one so big! Looks healthy, too!"

"What can I say? He's a healthy eater,"I said with a shrug.

"Begin!"

"Start this off with Stealth Rock, Fang,"I said. Large boulders erupted from the ground, shattering the ice and forming in a cicle around Togekiss. I saw Cynthia raise an eyebrow.

"Good strategy,"she said."You used that attack to break the ice as well as set up for my next pokemon. Even it won't do too much. Togekiss, Air Slash!"The angellic pokemon then shot blades of air at Fang, who quickly sheilded himself with his wings.

"Stone Edge!"I shouted. The ground below them rumbled for a moment before sharp stones erupted from the ground below Togekiss, catching them both by surprise as the rocks slashed through her. I knew using that tm we found would come in handy.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that,"Cynthia remarked."Get as close as you can, Togekiss!"Recovering quickly, Togekiss flew swiftly towards Fang.

"What's she doing?"I asked quietly."Maybe we can use this to our advantage. Guillotine!"

"Eat this!"Fang shouted as he swung his glowing claw down for a one hit Ko.

Cynthia wouldn't have it."Stop and use ice beam!"Togekiss stopped _just_ in time to avoid it, firing an ice beam at nearly point blank range, blasting him back and covering his wings with ice, grounding him. Fang quickly looked back and forth at his wings, eyes wide.

"Problem!"he said frantically.

"Aerial Ace!"Cynthia yelled. Togekiss then performed a loop before shooting straight towards Fang, wings glowing.

"Quick, use Fire Fang on your right wing!"I shouted. Mouth aflame, he bit into the ice on his right wing, melting the ice almost instantly. Unfortunately, he was unable to move it in time to block the attack. Though it didn't do much, it was enough to make him grunt in pain. He quickly bit down on his other wing, melting the ice on it as well. He flapped his wings a few times to gain altitude as Togekiss floated back.

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"she asked worriedly.

"Eh, I'll live,"Fang grunted.

"Togekiss, fly around as fast you can!"Cynthia said. Togekiss then began to move around at blinding speeds, causing Fang to look around frantically, having no idea where she was.

"What do I do now?"he asked, looking at me.

"Just brace yourself, that's all you _can_ do,"I said with a frown. He nodded, landing on the ground, and sheilding himself. Neither of us expected what happened next though.

"Sweet Kiss!"

"Say what?!"I asked as Togekiss appeared right in front of Fang and kissed him on the cheek. A pause, then Fang's wings dropped to his sides, a dopey grin on his face and hearts appearing in his eyes."Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..."

"So, your name's Fang?"Togekiss asked innocently. He nodded drunkenly.

"Duh-huh,"he mumbled, dazed.

"I honestly don't want to fight you anymore,"she said. I could sense that she really didn't want to fight, but that didn't mean I wasn't pissed at what was happening."Do you mind just knocking yourself out?"

"Anything for you,"he mumbled, raising his claw above his head as it glowed. My eyes widened.

"Fang, don't!"I shouted. He didn't even pause as he dropped his claw, knocking himself out. My jaw dropped as my eye twitched. I was stupefied.

"Gliscor is unable to battle!"Bob said, raising Cynthia's flag."Togekiss wins this round!"The crowd erupted with a mix of laughter and cheering. I smacked my forehead as I recalled Fang to his pokeball.

"Talk about being a victim of love,"I muttered humorously, looking over my shoulder."Let's make sure that doesn't happen twice. ZC, get in there."

"YAAAAY!"Zephyr screamed, shooting past me.

"Man, I wish you'd stop doing that,"I muttered. Zephyr stared the Togekiss down, eyes narrowed, as if in anger.

"Begin!"

"HIII!!"Zephyr screamed excitedly, flying at Togekiss before glomping her as if meeting an old friend for the first time in years. I groaned, putting my face in my hands, looking through my fingers to see Zephyr continuing to hug her.

"Zephyr, this is _not_ the time,"I growled. His head spun around to meet me.

"Really? When will it be?"he asked curiously, causing me to groan again, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Your Porygon-Z is rather...affectionate,"Cynthia said with a giggle.

"No, he's just nuts,"I said with a sigh."Zephyr, now is the time to _fight_, not _hug_."

"But I _like_ hugs!"Zephyr whined. Suddenly, he straightened out and backed away from the now confused Togekiss.

"Sorry about that,"COREM said calmly."Perhaps _I_ should battle now."

"Finally,"I muttered, rolling my eyes. I looked at Cynthia."Okay, I think we're ready."She chuckled.

"Good to hear,"she said."Togekiss, use air slash."

"Double team,"I said calmly. COREM quickly split into many different images of himself in a circle around Togekiss, dodging the attack with ease."Now, let's mix it up a little. Fire Psybeam and Ice Beam into the air at an arc."The COREM illusions then reared their heads back, firing alternating beams into the air, where they collided in a beautiful and colorful explosion of energy that caught everyone's attention in an instant, including Cynthia and Togekiss.

Perfect.

"Now use Ice Beam on Togekiss!"I said quickly. Our opponents looked down just in time to see the real COREM right in front of Togekiss. Before either of them could react, COREM blasted her with an ice beam attack, knocking her out. The crowd was silent as Cynthia recalled her Togekiss with a shake of her head, though she smiled nonetheless.

"Umm, Togekiss unable to battle,"Bob muttered hesitantly, then raised my flag."Porygon-Z is the winner..."The crowd began to boo us, obviously _very_ pissed off by our trick.

"Cheater!"

"He should be disqualified!"

"Whoever let that kid become a trainer is an idiot!"

My eyes widened. That moron had _no idea_ what he just said. I looked up to the sky, wondering if Arceus was listening in right now. I started dodging around calmly as they threw things at me. I didn't care, I was used to this kind of thing. But when I noticed ZC was having to dodge things as well, I started to get angry. _Nobody_ treated my friends that way and got away with it. Fortunately, before I could snap and cause a scene, Cynthia spoke up.

"All of you stop that this instant!"she shouted angrily, causing everyone to freeze. I watched her with a raised eyebrow."Attacking him and his pokemon simply because you don't approve of their methods is completely unreasonable! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"They all seemed to shrink back. Wow. She had _that_ big of an effect on them?"It's my fault that I fell for his trick. I should have paid better attention to him."She looked back at me with a small smile."Besides, it's good payback for that Sweet Kiss attack we pulled."Damn. Just damn. I was starting admire her knowledge. Finally, another human who wasn't a complete friggin' idiot. She pulled out another pokeball."It's time for my last pokemon. Are you ready?"I nodded, and she threw out the ball, releasing...a Garchomp.

Oh, snap.

ZC looked back at me.

"Please tell us you're going to switch us out,"COREM said. I nodded, and he quickly flew back over to the others, who I looked through.

"Wrath, you haven't had a chance to fight yet,"I told the Spiritomb."Wanna give it a try?"

"We will probably regret this, but we will fight to the best of our ability,"they said, floating past me and facing the massive dragon.

"Heh, this should be fun,"Garchomp growled with a smirk.

"Begin!"

Without warning, the Stealth Rocks slammed into Garchomp, taking everyone by surprise, including myself. I had forgotten those were there.

"Bit of a delayed reaction, but that should help a little,"I said as the rocks pulled away, revealing that Garchomp only had a few scratches. Damn, if that thing was tough to take those without even flinching, this was _not_ going to be easy.

"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"Cynthia shouted. The dragon roared as it charged forward menacingly.

"Dark Pulse!"I yelled, hoping it would be enough to weaken him. The attack managed to slow him down only marginally before he smashed into Wrath, sending them flying through the air before they managed to right themselves, wobbling as they floated back down.

"That...hurt,"they moaned out.

"Ouch,"I muttered."Let's see if we can weaken him, use Will-O-Wisp!"Blue wisps of flame appeared around Wrath just like with Cynthia's Spiritomb. They shot the flames torwards the dragon, who didn't move out of the way, probably from using Dragon Rush, so he was pelted with the small fire balls, leaving multiple burns across his body.

"Use Dragon Claw!"Cynthia shouted. Grunting, the dragon charged forward again, claw glowing with energy.

"Dodge it, Wrath!"I shouted. They started to float up, but were too slow too avoid the attack, and they were knocked out as the dragon passed by, swinging his massive claw.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle!"Bob said, holding up Cynthia's flag."Garchomp wins this round!"I sighed, recalling them. Looks like I was right about this not being easy. I looked back at Zapperton and ZC.

"Hey, Zaps, you feeling better?"I asked. He nodded and walked on to the field.

"Heh, my fur's still a little damp, see?"he said, cracking his knuckles."But I'm just glad the ice is gone."

"So now the challenger is using an Electivire against a ground type?"the announcer asked."He must have something planned, just like before."

"Someone developed a brain stem,"I mumbled lowly, rolling my eyes.

"Begin!"

"Use Earthquake!"Cynthia yelled. Roaring, Garchomp stomped the ground with incredible power, shaking the entire arena and causing Zaps to stumble around. Too bad we hadn't found that Volt Ring before now...

"Use your tails to keep steady!"I told Zaps. He planted his tails against the ground before stiffening his posture as the field continued to shake. After another moment, it stopped, and he let his tails back up."Time for some hit and run tactics, Zaps!"

"You got it, boss!"Zaps said. He began dashing around at high speed, but surprisingly, neither Cynthia nor her Garchomp seemed the slightest bit worried.

"Two can play that game!"Cynthia said with a grin."Garchomp, get moving!"To my surprise, Garchomp began to move around at high speed as well."Those burns have slowed him down considerably, but Garchomp is just as fast as your Electivire."I looked around. I was able to keep up with both of them easily as they dashed around the field. They were observing each other, keeping their distance. I looked back at Cynthia.

"Can _you_ see where they are?"I asked, making sure she thought I couldn't see them either. She shook her head in response.

"Not at all,"she said calmly."Wanna just let them duke it out?"I crossed my legs and fell on my rear, figuring it was a good enough answer. She laughed and sat down as well, though not the way I did. I watched as they attacked every time they came close, claw striking fist. That was probably all everyone else could see. After another minute, they stopped and faced each other down. Zaps was in front of Cynthia and Garchomp had his back to me. Zaps was covered in bruises and cuts while Garchomp looked even worse than before. Damn, he could take a beating.

"Alright, pal,"Garchomp growled, his claw glowing."One last shot is all you get. Better make it count."

"You asked for it,"Zaps said, preparing an Ice Punch attack.

"Anyone else getting a feeling of Deja Vu?"I asked as I stood up. Cynthia stood up as well, watching them intently. They charged forward, swinging their limbs and shooting past each other. The wind blew through the stadium as they stood there. Then Zaps' eye twitched.

"Boss,"he said.

"Hmm?"

"He didn't miss,"he grunted, then fell to his knees. He managed to smirk."But I didn't either."He collapsed as Garchomp fell to one knee. The crowd gasped.

"Electivire is unable to battle!"he said, raising Cynthia's flag again."Garchomp wins this round!"I sighed, returning Zaps to his pokeball. I looked at ZC.

"It's all up to you now,"I told them."Think you can do it?"

"Considering his current condition, I believe we can defeat him,"COREM said, floating past me as Garchomp stood up."Though it looks like he may pass out at any given moment."

"Don't count me out, kid,"he grunted, though he sounded like he was in a lot of pain. Cynthia looked at him with a frown.

"Begin!"

"Wait!"Cynthia shouted, holding a hand out.

"Huh?"I asked. She looked at me with a smile.

"I give up. This battle is over,"she said, causing everyone to gasp. Garchomp spun his head to look at her."Garchomp, you've done enough. There's no need for you to continue."He grunted, but didn't argue. She held out his pokeball."Take a good, long rest, old friend."She recalled the dragon, then put the pokeball away. She started walking towards us."A real pokemon champion isn't one defeats all their enemies."She patted ZC's head. Zephyr squeaked happily and nuzzled her."A real trainer treats all pokemon they come across fairly and equally."I felt a smile come across my face. No wonder everyone respected her. She motioned her arm towards me."Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new champion! Ken Woods from Twinleaf Town!"The crowd roared louder than ever before. I blinked as I processed this information. After all this time, after everything my team and I had been through, we were the Champions of the Sinnoh region!

And to think, this adventure was just getting started.

XXXX

End of Chapter.

The team has destroyed the Chrome bases of Sinnoh, and had become champions. Next up, the Hoenn region. And this time there won't be _nearly_ as many time skips. But first, a quick trip back to Mount Coronet.

See, when I get reveiws like the ones Redherring has given so far, I start pumping out chapters like a frickin' machine.


	8. Chapter 8

WARNING:This chapter is a lemon. This is one of the reasons it's M-Rated, so I suggest you wait for the next chapter if you don't like it. This will be in Third-Person Omniscient since this will be between Anubis and Mew.

Chapter 8:Mew's Paradise

The Legendaries cheered as Ken and his team walked into the city. He scratched the back of his head mareepishly, blushing slightly. The Legendaries started talking with the members of his team; the team had become friends with certain Legendaries over the time they had seen each other. Zaps was chatting with Zapdos and Raikou about his fight with both Milotic and Garchomp, Articuno and Moltres were teasing Fang about his rather embarrasing defeat by Togekiss, which was making him blush, COREM was speaking with Regigigas, the Unown were talking to Zephyr (don't ask how), Ken and Psyche were having an intelligent conversation with Mewtwo, and Wrath was speaking with Cresselia and Darkria.

"And the way you took out that Spiritomb was awesome!"Mew said to Anubis."And then you had that fight with that other Lucario! I loved that one part where you two dashed past each other super fast, and you _missed_, which was hilarious!"Anubis blushed from his lover's praise. During the time they had spent together, the two had fallen in love, so they _always_ looked forward to seeing each other.

"I didn't do _that_ well,"Anubis mumbled modestly.

"You took out _two_ of Cynthia's pokemon!"Mew told him excitedly."How is that not doing well!?"She looked at the others carefully, then back at Anubis. Her tone softened considerably."Do you mind if I bring you somewhere...private?"Anubis blinked.

"Er, if you want,"he said, confused by her sudden shift in attitude. She smiled, then they both disappeared in a small flash unnoticed by all.

XXXX

Anubis looked around with a raised eyebrow. He was now on what looked like an island, a small cavern in front of him.

"Uh, Mew?"he asked, looking around the psychic kitten. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming urge to run into the cavern. He barely paused for a second before heeding this call, dashing inside as fast as he could. He began searching the cave frantically, trying to find out where this sensation was coming from. He advanced into the cave for a few more seconds before he saw a light at the end. Sensing that the strange feeling was coming from there, he dashed towards it. What he found at the end shocked him, to say the very least.

There was a hole in the ceiling that let sunlight in. In the middle of the room was Mew lying on her belly and looking at Anubis with an alluring smile.

"You know, I think you deserve a better reward than some shiny cup,"she said softly as Anubis walked towards her, feeling mesmerized by her. She tilted her head innocently, putting a finger to her lip."Is something wrong?"Anubis said nothing, too stunned to speak. Mew giggled cutely, floating up to his height. He wrapped his arms around her, the spike in his chest retracting into his body. Mew took note of this."I didn't know you could do that."

"Us Lucario have the ability to do that in cases of...intimacy,"he mumbled, staring into her gorgeous blue eyes.

"That's interesting..."she said softly, her breath making him shiver slightly."Can we see what else can you do for mating?"

"...Intimacy..."he mumbled drunkenly.

"Mating,"she corrected with a smirk. Without warning, she planted her lips on his, her tongue sliding into his mouth. They started moaning softly as they continued. They laid on the ground, with Mew above the Lucario. After a moment, Mew pulled away slightly and both of them panted a bit. Mew smiled seductively."Would you like me to transform into something closer to your size? A shapely Lopunny, maybe?"

"Not really,"he admitted."You're beautiful the way you are now, I don't want to ruin that."Her smile widened, then Anubis smirked."Besides, I'd like to see how you'll do this with our size difference."

"Is that a challenge?"Mew asked, smirking as well.

"You better believe it."

"You'd be smart not to challenge a Legendary, you lowly creature,"she said with a fake scowl."You're going to have to prove yourself worthy first."She floated up and laid on her back in midair at Anubis' height, spreading her legs and revealing her entrance."I command you to please me."Anubis got up and bowed.

"By your command, your highness,"he said, standing up and bringing his muzzle between her legs. He pressed his tongue into her folds, slowly caressing her inner walls and causing her to moan rather loudly as pleasure washed through her body. He felt a liquid sloshing on his tongue, then he licked some of it up, smacking his lips before his eyes widened."That...tastes good."He pushed his tongue back into her, causing her to gasp as another wave of pleasure shot through her. He lapped up some more of her juices, almost greedily so. She shivered and moaned, her first orgasm racking her small frame, releasing her juices into his mouth. She nearly fell to the floor from being unable to concentrate, but Anubis quickly caught her."So, what do you think?"She moaned again, unable to say anything, which made Anubis smirk."Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say. Am I worthy now or what?"

"Uh huh,"she mumbled, still gasping for breath. She nuzzled against his chest lovingly, and he hugged her tightly. They stayed like this for a few moments, simply enjoying each other's company. Anubis then felt something small moving between his legs, then felt it rubbing against his hardening member. He looked at his lover suspiciously, who smiled alluringly."Your turn."

She flew out of his arms for a moment before tackling him onto his back, kissing and licking his neck, still using her tail to caress his erect member."Now just be still for a bit, ok?"She then floated above his erect member, and positioned her entrance over it. She then dropped down, taking his member into her and making them both moan. She began to float up and down slowly, trying to keep their pleasure at a maximum. Anubis grunted as she continued, pleasure shooting through him everytime Mew came down. She floated off of him for a moment, then laid down on his stomach, looking up at him with a smile.

"I love you,"Anubis said with a smile of his own.

"I love you more!"Mew giggled. She then rested her entrance near his member again, and he looked at her questioningly.

"Do you really want me to?"he asked softly. She nodded.

"Please?"she asked, making puppy eyes that Anubis had no chance of resisting. He rubbed his length against her entrance teasingly, making her moan again. He began to slowly press himself into her. She gasped as he reached her hymen. Anubis looked at her again. She smiled and nodded. He then broke through her, causing a pained yelp to escape her throat, which made him stop momentarily.

"Are you alright?"he asked, noticing tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She nodded sharply, trying to endure the pain. She sighed shakily as the pain faded.

"Please...keep going,"she breathed out. He nodded, then started thrusting into her repeatedly, incredible pleasure rushing through her small body with each thrust. They gasped as they felt his climax coming. They moaned in ecstasy as he released his seed into her. They both shivered as they calmed down.

Mew then floated off of his member, their mixed juices dripping from her entrance. She weakly floated forward and landed on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as she nuzzled his neck, both of them falling into peaceful slumber together.

XXXX

"Oh, you did NOT just headshot me..."

"Sure looks like I did. I _love_ this thermal scope."

"That's it! I got a predator missile with your name on it, pal!"

"Shit!"

"Darkria!"

"Ooh, you're gonna get it, now!"

"We'll just stay out of your way, then..."

In the entertainment room, Ken, Darkrai, Deoxys, and Latios were playing Modern Warfare 2, with said Legendaries being in their human forms. With them were Cresselia, Latias, and Groudon, along with most of Ken's team. The players all had roughly the same score and were playing on Terminal.

"AWWW, THAT WAS _SO_ CLOSE!"Ken shouted, annoyed that Darkria had managed to get into a building to avoid his missile.

"I'll say it was,"Darkria muttered. Latios then snuck up behind his character and knifed him, causing his jaw to drop."Why you little...!"Latios snickered, then gasped as his character suddenly dropped dead.

"W-what just happ-ohhhh,"he frowned, the kill-cam showing Deoxys throwing a knife at him through a window, which landed in his character's shoulder. He looked at the Virus pokemon sourly."You _suck._"

"I have to admit, I _really_ like using the throwing knife,"Deoxys said with a chuckle. He looked back at the screen, then smirked."And look what that kill just gave me."The other three gasped.

"AC-130!"Ken shouted, lying behind a counter in the main building.

"RUN FOR IT!"Darkria yelled, getting into the plane. Latios quickly got into the library room, hiding behind the bookcase.

"Any last words?"Deoxys asked as he activated his killstreak reward.

"'Homina homina homina' comes to mind,"Latios muttered as Deoxys began to fire.

10 seconds later.

"AAAAAGGHHHHH WITH THE SHOOTING!!"

10 more seconds later.

"DAMMIT!"

"DARKRIA!"

10 MORE seconds later.

"NOOOOO!!"

"Brother..."

10 MOAR seconds later.

"And I win,"Deoxys said calmly as the scores came up. Latios and Darkria groaned in annoyance while Ken shook his head.

"Man, all our travelling has _really_ put me out of practice,"he muttered. His team looked amongst themselves.

"I will never understand the appeal of these 'video games',"Psyche said with a shake of his head.

"Can I play now!?"Zephyr asked excitedly.

"No, Zephyr,"COREM said, sounding annoyed.

"Why noooot!?"

"Well, for one thing, we do not have thumbs,"COREM pointed out as the players put their controllers down."We do not even have hands."

"No! I wanna play!"Zephyr cried out as Ken turned the game off."No! I need it! No! NOOOOO!"Zephyr then started crying and screaming hysterically."WHHHHHYYYYYY?!?!"The Legendaries just stared with raised eyebrows while Ken held up five fingers.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1,"he said calmly, then snapped his fingers. Zephyr then fell to the ground, snoring as his cybernetic consciousness randomly went into sleep mode, allowing COREM to take over.

"Well, he certainly took that better than usual,"COREM remarked.

"THAT was better than usual!?"Cresselia asked incredulously. Ken nodded.

"Yeah, usually he starts firing psybeams all over the place,"he said. Before anyone else could comment, Mew burst into the room, looking around frantically.

"What was that screaming!?"she asked."I heard it from outside the building!"

"Don't worry, Zephyr was just having one of his fits,"Ken said with a dismissive wave. Anubis then calmly walked into the room.

"I told you it was nothing,"he said calmly. Ken tilted his head.

"Where have you two been?"he asked, eyebrow raised."You both look like look a little worn down."The two looked at each other, smiling. then they looked back.

"Just some alone time together, that's all,"Anubis said calmly, Mew giggling to herself. The group looked amongst themselves, eyebrows raised.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Alright, next chapter, we'll be in Hoenn, where the chapters will hopefully be longer. See ya.


	9. Chapter 9

Alright, back to Ken's POV. Remember the girl with red eyes back in Ken's poison test? Well, guess who this chapter introduces.

Okay, now there's two anonymous reviewers with the name anonymous. That's gonna get really confusing.

Chapter 9:The Tortured Soul

"Thanks for the ride, sir!"I shouted back at the Captain, who had a Wingull on his shoulder.

"No problem, boy!"he said."Always glad to help! Good luck collecting those badges!"

We were now in Hoenn, on Route 104, just east of Petalburg City. At least, that's what the old sailor said. I didn't have a map of this place yet. It was still a bit early in the day, but we decided that we would camp here since it would probably be night once we got to the city. After getting our tents set up, we all went to do our own thing. Anubis and Zaps were training together, Fang was napping in the shade of a tree, ZC was looking around boredly, Wrath was watching Anubis and Zapperton, and Psyche and I were meditating. All in all, it was pretty peaceful. But would it last?

Of course not. What gave you that idea?

Psyche and I opened our eyes, having sensed something at the same time.

"Do you feel that?"Psyche asked me. I nodded.

"Somthing's wrong,"I said, standing up.

"Hey, boss!"I heard Zaps shout. We turned our heads to see him, Anubis, and Wrath coming over to us."Boss, something's wrong. There's a nasty stench in the air."

"I looked around with aura sight, and there's a pokemon running through the woods,"Anubis reported."But something's freaky about it's aura. It's...black."I blinked at him.

"We sense it as well,"Wrath said."It's feeling an incredible amount of every negative emotion possible. Something is very wrong with this creature."

"Alright then,"I said."Anubis, come with me. Psyche, get ZC. Wrath, go wake up Fang."

"Right,"they chorused. We all split off, with Anubis and me charging into the woods.

We swiftly ran through the brushes to where we sensed the pokemon was. After a while, we noticed a trail of blood, and we ran even faster. Then after two minutes of running, we reached a clearing, where a very angry looking Kirlia was walking through, a small wound on her left side.

"Hey, are you alright?"I asked. She turned her head and glared daggers at us.

"Kill!"she screamed, firing a magical leaf attack at us without warning. We rolled in opposite directions to dodge it.

"What the hell was that for!?"I asked angrily. She continued to glare at us hatefully, but I could sense something was unnatural about it. Like Wrath had said, she wasn't feeling a single positive emotion. Just anger and hatred. Lots of it. Something wasn't right here.

But...I also felt something else. It was like the feeling I had with the rest my team, but it was different somehow. I just couldn't put my finger on it, though.

I sat down cross legged and closed my eyes to concentrate."Anubis, keep her busy. I'm going to look into her heart and mind to see what's up with her. Be sure not to hurt her too badly."

"You got it,"he said. I heard him dash off and start battling with the Kirlia. I took a deep breath, then allowed my consciousness to escape my body, breaching into the Kirlia's. She resisted at first, but my mind was more powerful than hers, and so I broke through.

XXXX

I looked around, my eyes wide in shock. I was floating in the air, the sky was filled with dark and powerful storm clouds, not a hint of light to be seen. Below me was a sea of pitch-black water. Just the sight of it made me cringe in disgust. This wasn't right. I had travelled through other pokemon's minds before, but none of them were like this. I concentrated, trying to sense something other than the sheer pain and hatred around me. I could feel that there was something deep within the sea of darkness other than complete anger. I didn't want to go into that disgusting sea, but I wasn't going to leave the poor thing in this condition. Steeling myself, I dove into the black sea.

It would be a complete understatement to say it was the nastiest thing I've ever felt in my life.

It was absolutely disgusting beyond reason, the black water stinging my 'skin.' I continued to go deeper into the pitch black darkness. But then, I saw a light below me, and I willed myself to go towards it. I felt the darkness resisting me, trying to keep me away from the light. But I just kept going. Just seeing this light was somehow making me stronger, and I felt an incredible attraction to it. Nothing was going to stop me from reaching it. The blackness struggled against me vehemently as I got closer, but it couldn't stop me. I could feel that it was getting weaker the closer I got to the light. I finally reached the bottom, seeing the source of the light. It was an orb about the size of basketball. Though I wasn't quite sure what it was, it was absolutely beautiful, the light it gave off filling me with some strange sensation that I welcomed with open arms. But just the thought of something so beautiful being drowned in this darkness made me want to cry. I held my hand out and touched the orb, which made me gasp. It just felt incredible. Just like that, I knew what this orb was.

It was the Kirlia's soul.

"Please..."

I gasped. That voice. There was so much pain in it, but...there was also a beauty to it that just touched my heart.

"Please help me..."

"...I will,"I said, feeling an incredible urge to protect her. But why? I didn't even know this girl, and yet I couldn't but feel that she was the one thing that mattered above all else."I'll find a way to help you, no matter what. You can trust me."After saying this, I sensed a feeling of gratitude and hope that only served in strengthening my resolve to help her.

"Thank you..."

I rubbed the orb comfortingly, feeling the darkness around us weakening even further.

"...en..."

I blinked, looking around. Who said that?

"Ken...wake up..."

Anubis?

"KEN!"

XXXX

I gasped as my eyes shot open. I was back in the clearing, Anubis crouching right next to me.

"You okay, Ken?"he asked, sounding worried.

"Y-yeah..."I muttered shakily. I noticed the Kirlia lying on the ground, unconscious.

"What happened in there?"Anubis asked."One second she grabbed me with a confusion attack, next thing I know, she's knocked out."I rubbed my head, sighing deeply. I stood and walked over to the Kirlia, picking her up."Ken?"

"She needs medical attention,"I said softly."Let's get back to base camp and I'll explain everything."

XXXX

"Wow, that's a heck of a story, boss,"Zaps said. We were now back in base camp. After fixing up the Kirlia and putting her in a bed, we had started up a campfire. I had just explained what had happened, and needless to say, the team was rather surprised.

"What do you think caused this?"COREM asked.

"I honestly don't have a clue,"I said with a shrug. I glanced at Psyche, who had his eyes shut."You know something, Psyche?"The Alakazam opened his eyes and looked at Anubis.

"You said this Kirlia had a black aura, correct?"he asked. Anubis nodded."Hm. Before I arrived at Sinnoh, I visited the Orre region. I heard that there used to be an organization unlike the Chrome Syndicate called Team Cipher. They created what was called the Shadow Pokemon project."

"Shadow Pokemon?"I asked. He nodded.

"Yes, a rather despicable project to make pokemon stronger by closing the door to their hearts, turning them into killing machines,"he said."They were indentifiable by black auras."

"Say what!?"Anubis asked, eyes wide.

"So, you think that is what happened to that Kirlia?"COREM asked. Psyche nodded again.

"So, what happened to Team Cipher?"Fang asked.

"You see, Team Cipher was operating with another group called Team Snagem,"he said."A young human male named Wes defected from this team, stealing what was known as a Snag Device. It gives the user the ability to steal another trainer's pokemon."I blinked in surprise."After he destroyed Team Snagem's base and made off with the device, he rescued a young human girl named Rui, who could also see auras."I looked at Anubis, who seemed interested by this."Together they started stealing the Shadow Pokemon, purifying them. Eventually, they purified every last shadow pokemon and defeated Team Cipher."

"But how did they purify Shadow Pokemon?"I asked. Psyche stroked his chin.

"Can't a person be huggled into happy?"Zephyr asked. We stared at him for a moment.

"Anyway,"Psyche muttered."I believe they did it by training and bonding with them like regular pokemon. But I heard they gave the _really_ bad cases massages to relax them."I tilted my head.

"Massages, huh?"I asked, looking up thoughtfully."I read about massages in my spare time, maybe I should take a crack at it."

"Good idea,"Anubis said."I don't think the rest of us would be qualified for it."I nodded in agreement, then walked into my tent, leaving them to talk amongst themselves. I walked into the room where the Kirlia was, seeing she was still unconscious on the bed we had made for her. I sat down on a chair next to her, deciding to wait until she woke up. I moved my hand to rub her head gently, trying to help her relax.

"Kiiillll,"she mumbled with a growl. I sighed, believing this wouldn't be easy. About 5 minutes later, her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Hey, there,"I said gently. Her eyes narrowed as she scowled.

"Kil-!"she paused, staring at me with a confused expression."K-kill...?"I sensed what felt like a small amount of recognition coming from her.

"So you remember me. That's good,"I said."I'm going to try and help you relax, alright?"

"...Kill?"she asked, still sounding very confused.

"I need you to lie on your front, okay?"I asked calmly. She blinked once, then hesitantly rolled over. I couldn't help but smile. If she listened to me, let alone understood me, then this might not be as hard as I thought. I pressed my right hand on her back, feeling that it was incredibly tense. The knots in her back almost felt like stones. I pressed two fingers against one of the knots, and she gasped sharply.

"Kiiiiilll,"she sighed, sounding relaxed. My smile widened as I realized I was obviously doing something right. I pressed my thumb on a spot just below her neck, which made her hiss for a moment before sighing again. As I continued, I felt her muscles starting to loosen, and she was actually smiling slightly. After a while longer, it seemed like there weren't any tense muscles left, so I stopped. By now, she looked so relaxed that it seemed she would fall asleep at any moment.

"Feeling better?"I asked.

"Kill,"she mumbled. She rolled on her back and stared at me silently. I moved my hand to rub her head, staring into her red eyes. Something about them seemed very familiar for some reason, though I couldn't tell what. She slowly brought her arm up and grabbed my sleeve, pulling my arm down. I did nothing to stop her. She moved my hand to her face, and I began to stroke her cheek. She smiled faintly and rubbed her head against my hand."Mmmm..."I smiled as she closed her eyes. I waited a moment longer before figuring she had fallen asleep. I pulled my hand away and stood up, then turned to leave the room."Kill?"I turned my head to see her staring at me, a sad and longing expression on her face as she sat up."Kill?"I blinked.

"You want me to stay with you."It wasn't a question.

She seemed to strain herself."Y-y-yes...p-please..."

I couldn't believe it. Barely an hour ago, she wanted to kill me. Now she didn't want me to leave her side. I turned to face her completely, then sat back down. I began to rub her cheek again, and she nuzzled against my hand, a contented smile on her face. I smiled, too, thinking we would have her back to normal in no time.

Why does the universe have to prove me wrong all the time?

"Hey, Ken, is she any better?"I turned my head to see Anubis at the entrance to the room. I glanced back at Kirlia, who immediately scowled at him, growling. I looked between the two of them, noticing that Anubis was getting nervous and that Kirlia was getting angrier."Uhhh, maybe I should-YAAAH!"Anubis was immediately thrown backwards by an unseen force, but I instantly knew that it was Kirlia who had thrown him. I looked back at her, confused by her sudden mood swing."I'll, uhh, go outside..."I heard the sound of retreating footsteps as Anubis left the tent. Kirlia then leaned against my side, smiling peacefully again. I wrapped my arm around her, wondering what that was all about. Maybe she has something against Lucarios?"C'mon, let's head outside."I stood up from my chair and picked her up carefully, letting her sit on my crossed arms. When we got outside, we saw the others still sitting near the campfire; except for Anubis, who was a few feet away from us, still looking rather nervous. I heard Kirlia growling again, and looked down at her.

"What's wrong?"I asked. She looked up at me with a blank stare. She then curled up in my arms and nuzzled against my chest, still glaring at the others hatefully. They stared at me with eyebrows. I just shrugged.

"HELLOOOO!!"Zephyr screeched, flying up to us quickly."HI, I'M--!!"

"Kill!"Kirlia screamed, throwing Zephyr to the ground with a psychic attack. He twitched once.

"Actually...it's Zephyr..."he mumbled."Imma...go over there now..."He floated away drunkenly. The others backed away slowly, not wanting to get thrown around like rag dolls. Smart.

"Apparently, I'm the only one she trusts,"I said, rubbing her head. She smiled again as if she had never been angry.

"This is rather problematic,"Psyche remarked. He shrugged."Well, at least _you_ can keep her under control. That should be satisfactory until we can find a way to purify her."I nodded in agreement.

"Maybe the Legendaries will know something,"I said."I'll ask them at our next meeting."

"Until then, we'll have to keep our distance,"Wrath said.

"No hugs?"Zephyr asked sadly.

"No,"everyone said in unison, except for Kirlia, who continued to glare at my team. I sighed again.

XXXX

End of Chapter

I'm willing to bet nobody saw this coming. I would have had this chapter up yesterday if it weren't for an annoying amount of interruptions.

Also, I have a little challenge for you guys. I based Zapperton, Zephyr, COREM, and Psyche off of certain characters from different video games. I'd like to see if you guys can guess which ones.

Zapperton is based off a discreet Mario character.

Zephyr has the personality of a cartoon character.

COREM is based off of a character from the Ratchet and Clank series.

Psyche comes from a character in the game Psychonauts for the PS2.

I'll give the answers in the next chapter, but until then, feel free to reveiw and tell me what you think about this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

People, let me get something straight real quick. The only reason I'm updating so fast is because I'm getting good reviews. My other stories rarely get any reveiws, so I don't feel motivated to write them. But when I get reviews like the ones you guys have given me, it motivates me to write. As long as I keep getting reveiws, you can expect updates often, maybe even daily if I don't have too many interruptions. After all, I have no real life to speak of outside the net. Yeah, I'm that pathetic.

Now for the character reveals. Zapperton is based off of Popple from Mario and Luigi: Superstar Sagas. COREM is based off of Clank from the Ratchet and Clank series. Zephyr is based off of GIR from Invader Zim. Finally, Psyche is based off of Sasha Nein from Psychonauts.

Anyway, on with the chapter.

Chapter 10:Petalburg Gym Battle

We were now in Petalburg City. After a good night's sleep, we had packed things up and headed on over here. After having the team fixed up at the Pokemon Center (except for Kirlia, who refused to leave my side) and getting a map of the region, (which I thanked Psyche for reminding me of) we had arrived at the gym.

"So, this is the Petalburg Gym?"I asked, looking at the building in intrigue.

"It would appear so,"Psyche said."It looks a bit different from the Sinnoh Gyms, but I suppose that's to be expected."

"Hey, what type of pokemon does this guy have, boss?"Zaps asked."For that matter, what's his name?"I looked at a sign near the entrance, and I couldn't help but snicker a bit.

"His name's Norman, and he uses Normal types,"I told them. They looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Well, then, we will have a good advantage,"COREM remarked."Wrath is immune to normal type moves, and Anubis will have an advantage against him, being a fighting type."I nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to be careful, though,"I warned."I've overheard people talking about Norman on our way here. They practically worship him in this town, so he must be pretty strong."

"Ha! We beat the Champion of Sinnoh, boss!"Zaps said, his usual arrogance showing."This guy'll be a cakewalk, see?"

"Don't get a swelled head, Zapperton,"Psyche scolded."Remember, we only beat her because she was out of practice. I'm sure that if she had fought at her best, we would of had a much harder time."Zapperton crossed his arms and looked away, but he didn't argue.

"Let's just make sure not to let our guard down,"I said, gaining their attention."Now, let's go."We walked inside the building, and were immediately greeted with a shout.

"WHOA!"a kid shouted, staring at us with wide eyes. The boy had blue hair and wore a green shirt and glasses. He ran over to us, looking through us with wide eyes."Aren't you Ken Woods!?"

"Uhh, yeah,"I said uncertainly."How do you know that?"

"I've heard about you!"he said with a massive grin."You beat the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia last week!"I raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, news sure travels fast,"I said. The boy then turned on his heel and ran into another room.

"Mom! Dad! May! Kirlia! You'll never guess who's here!"Kirlia?

"Calm down, honey,"a new, feminine voice said."Now speak slowly. Who's here?"

"Has Ash come by to visit?"another male voice asked. Wait, these people knew that Ash kid from the news?

"Ash? What's he doing here?"a younger girl's voice questioned.

"It's not Ash! It's that guy who beat Cynthia last week!"

"Really?"the older male asked. The boy then walked back into the room, dragging a man by his arm, another Kirlia following them."Well, what do you know? It really _is_ him."He smiled at me, walking over to us. He held his left hand towards me."I'm Norman, the Petalburg Gym leader."

"Uh, sir,"I glanced down at Kirlia, who was holding my left hand, showing him the problem. He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and held his other hand out. I shook it with my free hand.

"Is there something wrong with your Kirlia?"he asked, looking down at her. I noticed her scowling at him.

"She's...a little anti-social,"I muttered.

"How anti-social?"he asked, crouching down to her level.

"Uhhh..."

"Kill!"she shouted, throwing him back with a confusion attack. I cringed as he landed on his rear.

"Dad!"the boy shouted, he and his Kirlia running up to him as he stumbled to his feet.

"Ah, _that_ anti-social,"he remarked, rubbing his head."What happened?"

"I don't know,"I told him."We found her just yesterday. I'm the only one she likes. My Lucario says she has a black aura, and my Alakazam told me that it means she was turned into what's called a Shadow Pokemon."He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that certainly doesn't sound good,"he said with a frown. He blinked once."Wait, you can understand your pokemon?"I nodded.

"Well, not just mine,"I admitted."I can understand any pokemon. Something I was born with."I know what you're thinking, folks. But Arceus said I can't tell people about my elemental powers. He said it's perfectly fine if they know about my other ability, so long as I don't go bragging about it, which I would never do.

"You can not,"the other Kirlia said skeptically. I looked at her with a smile.

"I can _so_,"I told her, causing her jaw to drop. The boy looked at her, noticing her expression.

"That is _so_ cool!"he said excitedly.

"Oh, yes, this is my son, Max,"Norman said, motioning to him."So, I take it you're here to challenge my gym?"I nodded.

"Yes, sir. We've decided to travel to Hoenn to compete in the league here,"I told him.'That and take out the CS bases in the region.'I added mentally.

"Well, then, right this way!"he said with a grin.

XXXX

"This will be a 3-on-3 battle between the challenger, Ken Woods, and the gym leader, Norman, with no time limit!"the referee said, who we'll call Rob. I was now standing across the battlefield from Norman, placing my goggles ovr my eyes. My goggles had pretty much become my trademark. Why did I wear my goggles in every battle, you ask? Well, those attacks can get pretty damn bright, folks.

Anyway, Norman's family was now sitting on the sidelines to my left. I could sense a lot of anticipation coming from them, but also a lot of confidence that Norman would win. I tried not to dwell on that. Kirlia was now standing right next to me, while the rest of my team was standing a few feet behind me. Since Kirlia refused to leave my side, and attacked pretty much anyone who got too close to us, the team was forced to stay away from me. I didn't necessarily mind, but I was hoping that I'd be able to fix her soon so we wouldn't have this problem in the future.

"Norman will choose his pokemon first!"Rob said.

"Let's see if the if I can take on the Champ!"Norman said, throwing a pokeball forward and releasing a Linoone. I scratched my chin, looking at the team.

"Psyche, you're up,"I said. He nodded, walking a few feet around us, not wanting to provoke Kirlia. He stood in front of the Linoone, his usual calm demeanor showing through.

"Begin!"

"Linoone, use Fury Swipes!"Norman shouted. Linoone then kicked forward into a sprint, lunging at Psyche with claws bared.

"Confusion,"I said calmly. Psyche held one arm forward, catching the Linoone with his psychic power and lifting it up.

"Shadow Ball!"Norman shouted.

"Uh oh,"I muttered as Linoone fired."Teleport!"Psyche then disappeared in an instant, releasing Linoone and allowing the projectile to pass by harmlessly."Now use Psychic!"Psyche then reappeared right in front of Linoone. They hesitated just a fraction of a second too long. Psyche picked the Linoone up and hurled into the wall, knocking it out.

"Linoone is unable to battle!"Rob said, holding up my flag."Alakazam wins this round!"I heard Norman whistle as he recalled his pokemon. I sensed incredible shock from his family members.

"Good job,"he complimented."You sure didn't beat the champion by being lucky, that's for sure! Let's go, Vigoroth!"He threw another pokeball, releasing a white, muscular creature with long arms and claws. Apparently, this was a Vigoroth. Hey, even _I_ don't know _every_ pokemon there is.

"Psyche, you've done enough,"I said, he nodded and teleported back to the others."Wrath, it's your turn."The Spiritomb silently floated past us, making sure to stay away from Kirlia. They may have been immune to psychic attacks, but they didn't want to make Kirlia angry. Well, angri_er_.

"Begin!"

"Use Foresight!"Norman shouted. Vigoroth's eyes glowed for a brief moment, and I knew he had just exposed Wrath. I mentally slapped myself.

"Guess I should have seen that coming,"I remarked.

"I expected you to be aware of that,"Norman said. I shrugged.

"No one's perfect,"I said."Dark Pulse!"Wrath then abruptly let loose a wave of darkness that collided with the Vigoroth, knocking it back. Norman blinked in surprise.

"Whoa!"he shouted."Use Crush Claw!"Vigoroth then leapt forward at high speed, slamming it's glowing claw into Wrath before we could react. The Spiritomb was thrown back a few feet.

"You okay, Wrath?"I asked.

"Urrghh,"Wrath groaned as they floated forward."That was powerful..."

"Then let's give him a dose of it,"I said."Pain Split!"Both opponents began to glow. Vigoroth fell to one knee, clutching it's chest, while Wrath seemed to slow in their movement."Use Dark Pulse before they can recover!"Wrath then shot out another Dark Pulse that struck Vigoroth hard, knocking it out.

"Vigoroth is unable to battle!"Rob said, holding up my flag."Spiritomb is the winner!"Norman's family gasped in shock. Apparently, they hadn't had an opponent as powerful as us in a while.

"I should really pick up the pace,"Norman said as he recalled Vigoroth."Time for my final pokemon. Go!"He then released a rather large Slaking, who yawned boredly.

"Wrath, come back and take a break,"I said. He floated back over to the others."Anubis, time to finish this."

"Sweet!"he said, running past us. Kirlia growled at him, but I gently shushed her, rubbing her head comfortingly, which quickly calmed her down.

"Begin!"

"Use Force Palm!"I shouted. Anubis quickly sprung forward, arm pulled back. Norman said nothing, simply watching as he got closer. I narrowed my eyes.

"Eat this!"Anubis shouted, swinging his arm forward. Surprisingly, Slaking's hand shot up faster than I expected and actually _caught_ Anubis' arm!

"No thanks. I just had lunch,"Slaking said without a hint of sarcasm. He then casually threw Anubis across the room like a frisbee, and he landed on his back. My jaw dropped.

"Okay...that hurt..."Anubis muttered as he stumbled to his feet, rubbing his head.

"Alright, let's stay away from him, then,"I said."Use Aura Sphere!"Anubis pulled his arms back, creating a blue sphere of energy between his paws. He then hurled the sphere forward. Slaking calmly held his hands forward, the projectile exploding against his palms harmlessly, albeit with a bit of bruising. I held a hand to my forehead."Now what?"

"Slaking, use Hammer Arm!"Norman shouted. Slaking then charged forward, left arm glowing with power.

"Dodge it with Extreme Speed!"I shouted, not taking any chances. Anubis then practically disappeared, allowing Slaking's arm to smash the ground he was standing on a second ago with incredible force, creating a crater in the ground!"Whoa..."I stared at the crater with wide eyes as Slaking pulled away, looking around. I shook my head and focused on the battle."Now use Force Palm!"Before either of them could react, Anubis slammed his palm into the back of Slaking's head, the power of the attack boosted thanks to Extreme Speed. Slaking was knocked out before it could blink. I sighed in relief as Rob raised our flag.

"Slaking is unable to battle!"he said, Norman returning his Slaking."Ken Woods is the winner!"The rest of the team cheered behind me while Anubis dragged himself back over to them, hunched over.

"We're going back to the Center when we're done here, right?"he asked as he passed by. I nodded."Good."

"That was amazing!"Norman said, he and his family walking over to us."We didn't stand a chance against you! I guess that's why you're the Champ of Sinnoh!"He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small badge."Here. You've earned this."I pulled my goggles up and took the badge, placing it in my inner coat pocket.

"One down, seven more to go,"I muttered humorously.

"I haven't seen battling like that since we travelled with Ash,"Norman's daughter, May, said.

"Ash? That kid from the news a few years back?"I asked. They nodded."Out of curiousity, what's he like? I wouldn't mind meeting him one day."

"Ash was a great guy,"Max said."He's a good trainer, but a bit dense, though."

"Max!"his family said scoldingly.

"What? He was!"Max said defensively. His family didn't argue. I chuckled, shaking my head. Yeah, we _had_ to meet this guy someday.

"Well, it was nice meeting with you,"I said."We'd better get moving."

"Good luck!"Norman shouted as we left the building. We started walking in the direction of the Pokemon Center, noting that it was about midday now.

"That went well,"Psyche said.

"Coulda been worse,"Fang remarked.

"Like I said, that guy didn't stand a chance against us, see?"Zapperton said, arms crossed.

"I _like_ Mankeys,"Zephyr said blissfully.

"Good for you, Zephyr,"COREM said calmly.

"Hey, Ken! Over here!"a male voice said. We all turned to see Deoxys in his human form walking up to us.

"Hey, Dex,"I said, using his human name."Time for another meeting?"He nodded.

"That's right,"he said."And part of it is about your little friend right there."He pointed to Kirlia, who was in my arms and glaring at the DNA pokemon in disguise. I tilted my head.

"Really?"I asked."Well, then, let's go."

XXXX

End of Chapter

Uuughh. So...many...interruptions...Writer's block...such a b*tch...

Review please...


	11. Chapter 11

Anonymous:What are you talking about? Ken ONLY told them about his ability to speak to pokemon. He didn't tell them anything else.

Chapter 11:The Two Sides of a Hero

We were now in the meeting tower with the other Legendaries, scattered across the two floors of the large building. Kirlia was standing next to me as I leaned against the wall. For some reason, she seemed very confused by all the Legendaries, which in turn confused me. Arceus was now explaining our next mission.

"We have learned that there is a Chrome base a few miles north of Petalburg City,"he explained."Unfortunately, we don't have many specifications about the base. And there is something else that may concern you, Ken."I raised an eyebrow."Do you remember General Krellos from Sinnoh?"

"That sadistic cyborg swordsman who tried to lop my head off?"I asked. Krellos was a freak. He absolutely HATED pokemon for whatever reason. Not to mention he was a total nutcase, always saying the word 'cut' randomly."He's...not too hard to remember."I blinked."Oh, don't tell me he's alive..."Arceus nodded."But I thought Palkia killed him when he blew the base up. You know, after I left him _bleeding on the floor?_"I glanced at the space dragon, who shrugged.

"Heck, so did I,"he said.

"Well, somehow he managed to escape the explosion,"Arceus said."We believe he may there now."I rubbed my forehead, sighing.

"Greeeaaat,"I muttered."I was really hoping that jackass was dead."I shrugged."Well, I guess this time I'll finish the job myself."

"That will be easier said than done,"Arceus said. I blinked at him."You see, it seems Krellos has had a few upgrades since last time."I smacked my forehead.

"Sunnuvabitch..."I growled quietly."Alright, alright, we'll go take the base out ASAP."

"Very good,"Arceus said."This meeting is adjourned. Everyone is dismissed."Everyone started to clear out. I turned to leave."Except for you, Ken. As well as your friend right there."I blinked again, then looked down at Kirlia, who seemed to be afraid. _That_ was different."Celebi, I need you as well."I looked at the Forest Guardian, who floated over to Arceus as I picked up Kirlia. I walked over as they floated down to the floor.

"I'm guessing this is about Kirlia here?"I asked rhetorically. I felt Kirlia trembling in my arms. Why was she so afraid?

Arceus nodded at my question as Celebi floated over to us, staring at Kirlia curiously. To my surprise, the psychic in my arms buried her head into my chest, trembling even more. I rubbed her head, trying to comfort her.

"What's wrong?"I asked. She looked up at me with a fearful expression."Why are you afraid of Celebi?"

"K-k-k-kill..."she stuttered, turning to look at Celebi, who tilted her head.

"Wair a minute,"Celebi muttered, examining Kirlia intently. She gasped and covered her mouth."She's been turned into a Shadow Pokemon!"

"That's right, Celebi,"Arceus said, gaining our attention."You see, Ken, it is not Kirlia herself who is afraid of Celebi. It is the darkness within her that is afraid."

"I don't follow,"I said, eyebrow raised as I continued to pet Kirlia's head.

"I have the power to purify Shadow Pokemon,"Celebi said. I blinked in surprise."The darkness in her knows that, and that's why she's so afraid of me."I looked back down at Kirlia, who was still trembling violently.

"Ken, I want you to gather your team and head for the base,"Arceus said."But I want you to leave the young one here."I blinked, looking back up at him.

"But I can't do that,"I said."She hasn't left me since we met. Who knows what'll happen if I leave her alone?"

"Would you prefer to take her on your mission?"Arceus asked me. I bit my lip. He had a point there. His eyes flashed, then I heard Kirlia gasp. Barely a second, she fell limp in my arms.

"What the--?"I muttered, looking back down at her, seeing that she was asleep.

"While you're gone, Celebi will purify her,"Arceus said."But there is one important thing. Celebi will not be able to purify her completely."Hearing this, we both looked up at him.

"I won't?"Celebi asked, sounding confused. Arceus shook his head.

"Ken, you will be needed to complete the process,"he told me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Why's that?"I asked.

"You'll know soon enough,"he said cryptically."Celebi, if you would."The Forest Guardian nodded, her eyes glowing as picked Kirlia up psychically.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her,"she promised. I nodded, then she floated out of the building.

XXXX

"Is this it?"I asked Deoxys, staring at a large fortress from the trees we were in. I was now in my armor, my team scattered through the branches. None of us were uncomfortable, since we had been doing this for a while now.

"That's right,"he said with a nod."The prison area is in the west side of the fort. That's our first priority."I brought a hand to my chin, my experience from playing strategy games starting to stir in my brain.

"Any idea how many we're dealing with?"I asked.

"380. No more, no less,"Deoxys said."Mostly drones, though."I nodded, looking at the team.

"Alright, here's what we'll do,"I said."Zapperton, ZC, I want you to go free the prisoners."

"You got it, boss,"Zaps said.

"Do we get to make stuff 'splode?"Zephyr asked hopefully.

"No,"COREM said flatly.

"Aww..."

"Deoxys, Fang, Wrath, think you can take the east side?"I asked.

"Of course,"Deoxys said with a nod."But what if there is no entrance?"Fang grinned at that.

"Easy, we _make_ one,"he remarked.

"Ah."

"We will not fail,"Wrath said.

"Psyche, you and Anubis teleport to the south and hit them from behind,"I said. They nodded."I'll come in from the front and hit them head on. We're going to divide their attention away from the prison area. When you're in position, I'll give you the signal. Zaps, ZC, I want you to wait about 2 minutes after the signal, that way you can be sure the security in the prison area is at a minimum. Everyone else, hit 'em fast and hard, understood?"They all nodded."Alright, move out."They all split off, Deoxys, Fang, and Wrath flying to the east, Zaps and ZC moving towards the west, and Psyche teleporting himself and Anubis away. As they left, I couldn't help but think back to what Arceus said.

Why did he say I would be needed to purify Kirlia? Why couldn't Celebi do it on her own? She obviously knew what a Shadow Pokemon was. So she must have purified some pokemon before. Come to think of it, I wonder if she ever met that Wes guy from Orre...huh, I wonder what he's like? He must be pretty badass to take down an entire criminal organization. Hell, he must be badass just living in Orre. That region had the highest crime-rate in the world, after all...

I shook my head. Ugh, even after all I've been through in the last year, I _still_ do that all the time! I sighed, figuring I shouldn't complain about it. I brought two fingers to my temple, concentrating on sending a message to the others.'Is everyone in position?'

'We're ready to move any time,'Psyche said.

'So are we,'Deoxys said.'Just give the signal and we'll begin.'

'Hey, boss. What's the signal, anyway?'Zaps asked. I grinned.

"You'll know it when you see it,"I said before cutting off our connection, hopefully leaving them with a lot of anticipation. I clenched my fist, my armor becoming dark brown as I concentrated on my ground powers. With a roar, I leapt forward from the trees towards the massive structure, both fists reared over my head. Just before landing, I swung my arms forward, creating a large fissure that shot forward and crashed into the bases' front gate, toppling a part of the wall. Klaxons roared to life as drones began to pour out. They were basically human shaped with a large jet replacing the legs, laser guns of varying types in their hands. I'd say there were at least 50 and counting. Oh, this was gonna be fun.

I jump-flipped over a few laser blasts and landed on top of one drone, smashing it to bits. I then thrusted my arms out to either side, firing bolts of lightning and blowing them apart, but I quickly absorbed the fire from the explosions. The heat travelled through my body before I released it through my mouth in a powerful flamethrower, melting a few drones in front of me. For a moment, I was actually a little saddened by how easy this was going to be.

But then I got over it. Heh heh heh heh.

XXXX

"Wow, he wasn't kidding,"Deoxys muttered, staring at the ripple in the ground Ken had created from the air. He looked at his temporary partners."Shall we?"

"Let's,"Fang said with a feirce grin. The three swooped down, Deoxys going into attack form while Wrath and Fang trailed right behind him. They crashed through a wall, where Wrath let loose a powerful Ominous Wind attack, blowing around the drones in the room. They immediately retaliated, other drones flooding the room. A few drones charged at Deoxys, who calmly swung his arm to smack them away, Wrath firing a Shadow Ball to blow a crowd apart, and Fang crashing through a few more.

XXXX

"I think that was it,"Anubis muttered humorously as the ground stopped shaking.

"How strange,"Psyche said as they moved towards the base."I figured he would be a bit more...well, subtle."

Anubis shrugged, pulling his arms back and creating an aura sphere."Hey, he's hard to predict sometimes. Doesn't mean he doesn't know what he's doing."

"True,"Psyche agreed as Anubis blew the wall apart. They both jumped into the building, where they were met with a small armada of drones, who all aimed their weapons at them. Psyche quickly formed a barrier of psychic energy to deflect the lasers fired at them. Anubis leapt over the shield and stomped a drone to bits. The others drones quickly fired at him, but he quickly jumped out of the way, causing them to destroy themselves. Psyche shook his head."It seems the drones in this region aren't any brighter than the last."

"Just like their creators,"Anubis joked. They both chuckled.

XXXX

Zaps did a long whistle of shock.

"They sure know how to wreck a place, eh?"he asked ZC, who nodded.

"I wanna make stuff go boom, too!"Zephyr whined.

"Too bad. The boss gave us our job,"Zaps said, cracking his knuckles."And what the boss says goes, see?"

"Of course,"COREM said with a nod."Our objective is to free the prisoners, nothing else."

"...Meanies...."

A few more moments passed.

"Alright, it's been long enough, see?"Zaps said."Let's book it."They both charged forward and out of the woods. When they reached the building, they saw a door with an electronic lock.

"Allow us,"COREM said, holding their arm forward. Zaps grabbed him by the tail and yanked him back.

"That'll take too long, see?"he said. He clutched the lock and sent an electric shock through it, short-circuiting it and opening the door. He wiped his hands, smirking as walked inside.

"Well, I suppose that is one way to go about it,"COREM remarked, following him in. They swiftly and silently moved through the corridors, sneaking past what few drones were hanging around."It would that the others are doing a very good job of distracting the guards."

"Just stay close, see?"Zaps said quietly. They continued to move through the hallways, trying to ignore the blaring klaxons. They started to turn down another hall, but Zaps immediately stepped back, pulling ZC back by their tail, having seen a small squad of drones moving towards them quickly. Zaps quickly clambered up a wall to the ceiling, ZC following him just as the squad turned the corner. Zaps held his breath as he watched the drones go down the way they had just came.

When he was sure the coast was clear, he dropped back to the floor, looking around for anything else. He motioned for ZC to follow him. They moved down the hallway, eventually reaching a chamber filled with prison cells, where a variety of pokemon were in many different states of injury, all of them staring at the two with wide eyes. COREM shook his head while Zaps clicked his tongue.

"Quite a mess,"COREM said."Their cruelty never ceases to amaze and disgust me."

"I can't wait til we wipe these punks off the planet, see?"Zaps said, looking at a Chimecho covered in bruises. He reared his fist back and punched the cell door, knocking it off it's hinges. The Chimecho whimpered in fear."Don't worry, kid. We're here to bust you outta here, see?"

"You--you are?"the Chimecho asked hopefully. Zaps nodded as ZC unlocked another door. He picked the Chimecho up, letting her rest on his shoulder. They continued to unlock/destroy the cell doors, releasing the pokemon. When they were finished, they looked around.

"Alright, is this everyone?"COREM asked. They all nodded."Good. Now follow us."They quickly began leading the pokemon out of the building, making sure to avoid a confrontation.

XXXX

"Hmm, is that all of them?"Psyche asked, looking through the defeated robots carefully.

"Looks like it,"Anubis grunted, angrily stomping on the head of a drone that had managed to shoot his shoulder.

"We better have that looked at,"Psyche remarked, referring to Anubis' wound.

"Ah, I'll live,"Anubis said."I've been through worse."

"We all have,"Psyche said with a nod. Suddenly, the building shook for a moment, startling the two before it calmed down.

"Oh, that can't be good,"Anubis said, looking around with aura sight.

"Agreed,"Psyche said, looking around with his own psychic senses. They didn't like what they saw. A familiar cyborg was heading in Ken's direction.

"Uh oh,"Anubis muttered as they opened their eyes."Ken's about to have a very unhappy reunion."

"Let us be off, then,"Psyche said, teleporting the two of them away.

XXXX

"Well...that was fun,"Fang said as they looked around.

"That's one way to put it,"Deoxys said, returning to his normal form.

"Something is wrong, though,"Wrath said, gaining their attention."We sense something. A human with deep hatred in his heart is moving towards Ken with the intent to kill. It may be Krellos."

"Uhh, that's bad, right?"Fang asked.

"Very,"Deoxys said gravely, eyes narrowed.

XXXX

"Hmph, I knew I'd have to fight you when we got here,"I said, glaring at the familiar figure of Krellos. He had chrome armor plating (big surprise) covering most of his body, including an electronic eye patch, leaving only one green bloodshot eye.

"Oh, -cut- really?"Krellos asked me as we circled each other."And how did you -cut- know that?"

"I'm genre-savvy,"I said casually, shrugging. Without warning, he charged at me with a insane scream, swinging his sword at high speed. I quickly rolled out of the way, firing a lightning bolt at him. He shouted in pain as the electricity course through him. He gave me a death glare, which I was used to by now. He then charged his sword with energy and swung it at me, firing a beam of energy. I sidestepped the attack."Huh. That's new."

"I'm going to kill -cut- you this time, O great Element -cut- Knight,"Krellos said with a manic grin. I smirked at that. That was the name I had given myself because of my medievil-esque armor, minus the 'cut' part, of course. I held my arms out, creating a sword of super dense ice in my right hand in the shape of a broadsword, and a sword of lightning in the other in the shape of a rapier, holding it in a reverse grip. My swordsmanship wasn't as refined as his, but hey, two swords were better than one.

We charged at each other, swinging and parrying each other's blows. He swiped at my head, but I countered with my ice sword. I stabbed at him with my electric sword, but he hopped back to avoid it. He then leapt up and brought his sword down to chop me in half, but I quickly crossed my blades to block it, the current from my lightning sword travelling through his own weapon and shocking him. He pulled away with a grunt of pain.

"Why won't you -cut- DIE!?"he screamed angrily, firing another wave of energy. I hopped sideways, avoiding it with ease.

"Probably because I don't want to,"I said calmly, letting my lightning sword disappate and I dropped the other."Question is: Why won't _you_?"I pointed my free hand at him, picking him up telekinetically. He roared angrily, struggling vehemently against my psychic grip. I flinched as I tried to keep him still. If it weren't for those cybernetic enhancements boosting his strength, I probably wouldn't have nearly as much trouble.

"Ken!"a familiar voice shouted. I glanced to the left see everyone but Zaps and ZC coming over to us. Deoxys was the one who had spoken."Well, we were going to see if you needed a hand here, but it seems you have everything under control."He looked at Krellos, eyes narrowed.

"You guys mind finishing him off?"I growled, my energy nearly spent. They nodded, preparing their attacks. Krellos apparently saw this, because then he started struggling even more. I grunted as I fell to one knee. Damn, this guy was strong!"Hurry up already!"

"Fire!"Deoxys shouted. Anubis and Wrath then fired aura sphere and dark pulse, the two attacks exploding on contact and blowing him away a few yards. I gasped as I released my grip, panting heavily. I turned my head to look at Krellos, who was bloodied and bruised from the combined assault. He growled fiercely as he stood up, pointing his sword forward. He ran forward, apparently forgetting he had no chance of survival now. Faster than we could blink, Deoxys, now in attack form, charged forward, running his blade-like tentacle arm through Krellos' chest. The cyborg gasped once, then fell to the ground, dead.

"Hey, fellas!"a voice shouted from a few yards away. We turned our heads to see Zaps and ZC coming over to us, followed by about a dozen other pokemon. They all looked at the bloodied form of Krellos as Deoxys returned to his normal form. Zaps looked at me with a raised eyebrow."Did we miss anything?"

"Nothing big,"Anubis said casually as Psyche and FAng helped me to my feet."Deoxys just got done killing Krellos, that's all."

"...Huh,"Zaps muttered."Well, we got all the prisoners outta there, see?"

"We also downloaded a sufficient amount of information on the other bases,"COREM said."Now all we need is to blow this place to smithereens."

"I'll take care of that,"Deoxys said, floating upwards.

"Can I help!?"Zephyr asked. We all looked amongst ourselves, then shrugged.

"Eh. why not?"I said, causing Zephyr to squeal happily and fly up into the air right after Deoxys."We'd...better get the hell out of here..."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

XXXX

"How is she, Cel?"I asked as we walked into the room where Kirlia was. After fixing up the pokemon from the base, we returned to the hidden city, where Celebi had come up to me and pulled me away from the others, while they went back to Arceus.

"She's better than she was before,"Celebi said."But it's just like Arceus said, I can't purify her completely for some reason."I walked over to the bed Kirlia was on, noting that she was still asleep. I sat down in the chair next to her bed. She seemed to be a lot more relaxed than before, but there was a still scowl on her face.

"So, what do I have to do?"I asked.

"Arceus said you've gone into her mind before,"she told me."What was that like, by the way?"

"Trust me when I say you've probably never been through anything like it,"I said, looking at her. Surprisingly, she seemed rather sullen by what I said.

"Actually, I think I have,"she said softly. I blinked. I wasn't expecting that. My expression softened.

"You want to talk about it?"I asked quietly. She shook her head.

"No, we need to focus on her,"she said."Arceus said you need to dive into her mind again."I nodded, looking back at Kirlia. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes and concentrating.

XXXX

I looked around, seeing that I was back in Kirlia's mind. But things seemed to be a bit different. The black sea and storm clouds were still here, but they were much less...potent, I guess the word would be. I could sense that it was much weaker than before, so it probably wouldn't be nearly as bad as the first time. Looks like Celebi had done a good job. I dove into the sea.

I was right.

The black water still stung at my 'skin', but it was _much_ more bearable than before. I squinted my eyes, seeing the light near the bottom. The darkness struggled against me, but it wasn't any more successful than last time. I still felt an incredible attraction to the light, and since the darkness was much weaker, I got to it a lot sooner.

"Hey, it's me,"I said, placing my hand against the orb."How are you feeling?"

"The pain...it's going away..."

"Yeah, a friend of mine helped with that,"I told her."But I'm told that I'm the one who has to heal you. I'm not sure how, though."She said nothing, but I could feel that she was enjoying me just being here, which made me crack a smile. I could feel the darkness was becoming even weaker.

"Thank you for that massage..."

I smiled wider."You needed it,"I said."The knots in your back felt harder than my own skull."I tapped my own head for emphasis, and she giggled, the light becoming even brighter. For some reason, the light didn't hurt my eyes. In fact, I couldn't look away from it. She floated towards me and nuzzled against my chest. I wrapped an arm around her. That same feeling as before was shining through again. The feeling that I needed to protect her was overwhelming. Then, somehow, I knew what I was supposed to do. I just had to embrace the feeling. That was it.

I closed my eyes, allowing this feeling to wash through me from the orb. Thiis feeling was unlike anything I had ever felt in my entire life. It was an incredible combination of sheer joy and hope. I gasped, my eyes shooting open to see the light stretch out, breaching through the darkness and destroying it. For a moment, that beautiful light was all I could see...

XXXX

My eyes shot open, and I looked around quickly, seeing that I was back in the room, Celebi hovering right next to me.

"Are you okay?"she asked. I blinked once, then looked at Kirlia, who now had a contented smile on her face."You did it, Ken."I looked back at Celebi, who was also smiling."You've finished the process. She's completely healed."

"That's good to hear,"I said, looking back at Kirlia, who started stirring.

"I'll just leave you two alone,"Celebi said, floating out of the room. I watched as Kirlia slowly sat up, rubbing her head.

"Mmmm,"she mumbled, her eyes slowly opening. She looked at me silently for a moment, then smiled again.

"How are you feeling?"I asked her gently.

"Incredible,"she said, her voice sounding very serene and peaceful, a much better adjustment to the constant angered shouts of 'kill.'"I haven't felt this way in a long time. I can never thank you enough for helping me."

I shrugged."It's my job,"I said, though I knew it meant much more to her than just that."So, do you have a name?"She nodded.

"Yes, my name is Serenity."

XXXX

End of Chapter

Not bad. The team's taken out the first Hoenn Chrome base, and Kirlia, that is, Serenity, has been purified. Things are really looking up.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the delay. Writer's block reared it's ugly head again.

Chapter 12:Troubled Pasts

"Err, Ken? Are you sure it's safe now?"Anubis asked me cautiously. He and the rest of the team had just got done speaking with Arceus, and had just come into the room. They were reasonably apprehensive about Serenity, who had a very saddened expression on her face. We were both sitting on the bed while they were standing a few feet away.

"I'm...I'm so sorry for attacking you,"she said, trembling slightly. I wrapped my arm around her to comfort her."It was that horrible darkness that forced me to do it against my will. Please forgive me."She looked down and away from them shamefully. I noticed the team looking amongst themselves with very stunned expressions, obviously not expecting this behavior from her.

Psyche shrugged."The simple fact that you're not glaring at us is rather assuring,"he said."I think that's enough reason to trust you."

"And your aura isn't black anymore,"Anubis said, eyes closed. He opened his eyes and smiled."That's good enough for me."

"If the boss says we can trust you, then that's all there is to it,"Zaps said, arms crossed."He's never led us wrong before."He paused."Well, almost never."I rolled my eyes.

"The evil within your heart is gone,"Wrath said."We completely forgive you."

"Same here,"Fang said, raising a claw. I looked back at Serenity, who was now smiling with a few tears in her eyes.

"Logically, I do not think we are capable of forgiving you,"COREM said calmly. We all frowned at them.

"Why not?"I asked, feeling angry at them.

"She didn't do anything,"Zephyr said, sounding confused."It was the icky, bad stuff in her that made her do it."

"Exactly,"COREM said with a nod."She has done nothing wrong of her own volition, and thusly, there is no reason to forgive her."We all smiled at that, then I heard Serenity sniffling.

"Th-thank you..."she stuttered, smiling widely as happy tears fell from her eyes.

"Awww, someone needs a huuuug!"Zephyr said, flying forward and glomping her. Serenity laughed happily, hugging him back. The rest of us smiled at them.

"Alright, that's enough, Zephyr,"I said calmly, prying him off."We don't need you to suffocate her."I turned to Serenity."So, if it doesn't bother you too much, can you tell us what happened to you?"She frowned at my question, looking away.

"I..."she hesitated."I don't know."

"If you don't want to tell us, that's perfectly fine,"I said. She sighed sadly, looking back at us.

"I don't mean to offend you,"she said."But I'd rather tell just Ken, if you don't mind."We blinked, then looked amongst ourselves, though Zaps looked rather annoyed.

"What's wrong with tel--OOF!"he grunted as Anubis elbowed him in the side. They gave each other annoyed looks.

"If that's what you want,"Psyche said loudly, gaining their attention."Come along now, everyone. Let's get something to eat, shall we?"He turned around and walked out, the others following without arguement, though Zaps was grumbling something under his breath.

"OOH! CAN WE GET CUPCAKES, PLEEEEEAAAASEEE!?!?!"Zephyr squealed excitedly as he flew after them.

"How many times do we...?"Anubis started, but he was out of earshot before he finished. I rolled my eyes at them, chuckling in amusement. I looked back at Serenity, who had a sad smile on her face. She then looked back up at me, frowning.

"Why is it you only want to tell me?"I asked, sitting on the bed cross-legged. She blushed slightly, looking away again.

"Well,"she mumbled."It's just...being near you."I tilted my head.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I don't know what it is, really,"she said, looking back at me."But...just being near you makes me feel safe for some reason. I know it sounds silly, but I don't know how to explain it better than that. I just feel really safe near you."We stared at each other after that.

"...I see,"I said after a long moment."Can I tell you something?"She blinked once, then nodded."When I first saw you, or rather, your soul, I had this feeling."I looked away for a moment, resting my chin on my hand."The feeling that I'm supposed to protect you. I just felt like you were the one thing that mattered above everything else."We looked at each other again.

"What do you think that means?"she asked. I just shrugged.

"Who knows?"I asked."Maybe we were destined to meet each other for some reason or another."

"Huh,"I heard her mumble. Another moment of silence passed.

"...So,"I said."What happened?"She sighed again.

"It was a while back, when I was still a Ralts,"she started."I was just playing with my parents. It was such a beautiful day, and we were having so much fun together. Then..."She bit her lip."Then _he_ showed up. He just came out of nowhere and had his pokemon attack us. My father tried to fight them off while me and mother ran away."She covered her face with her hands, and I frowned deeply as her voice cracked."Neither of them survived..."I let out a long sigh, wrapping my arms around her."Then...then he captured me. He had his other pokemon beat me all the time. If I didn't win a battle, he would do it himself. He did horrible things to me. Eventually...it was just too much, and he turned me into that...thing."Tears were freely falling from her eyes. I hugged her tightly, trying to comfort the best I could as she cried."It hurt so much..."It was heartbreaking to see her so sad.

"...I know how it feels,"I said, my voice barely above whisper. She sniffed a bit, looking back up at me."For 18 years, people have treated me like less than garbage. They insulted me, threw things at me, pushed me around, and did everything else to make me feel worthless, all because I could understand pokemon. The entire. Damn. Town."I closed my eyes."All of them hated me, dozens of people always attacked me, verbally and sometimes even physically. I'm pretty sure the only I didn't go insane from all of it is because of the wild pokemon around town. I always talked to them after escaping from any of the bastards who wanted take out their frustrations on me. I had Anubis and my Mom, sure, but..."I shook my head, my own voice cracking."It wasn't enough sometimes..."I shook as I tried to hold back any tears. But despite all this sadness I felt, I couldn't help but think. Why would I tell all of this to her? I had never even talked about it to Mom, so why would I tell someone I'm really _just_ meeting for the first time? Was it because we had so much in common? At the moment, I didn't know and I didn't care.

I felt Serenity hug me tightly, and I opened my eyes. She looked up at me and we stared into each other's tear-filled eyes. She rested her head on my chest and I rested my chin on her head. We stayed this way for a while.

XXXX

"Daaang,"Groudon muttered as Arceus closed the veiwing portal. Both Ken's team, the Legendaries, and even Mystica were in the meeting tower, having just watched the entire scene.

"I...I've never seen that side of him before..."Cresselia said softly.

"Who knew the kid had it so rough?"Dialga grumbled. Mewtwo shook his head in disgust.

"Humans..."he growled."What vile creatures."

"Why are humans afraid of what they can't understand?"Mew asked sadly."It doesn't make any sense..."

"I honestly don't blame him for hating his own species,"Psyche remarked with a depressed tone.

"Jeez, the boss is the toughest guy I know,"Zaps muttered."To see him like that..."He sighed. Zephyr said nothing since he was in the middle of a crying fit. Neither Wrath, Fang nor Mystica said anything.

"Maybe now they can start to heal each other,"Celebi said, wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Only time will tell, I suppose,"Deoxys said quietly.

XXXX

"You feelin' any better?"I asked softly.

"Mm-hmm,"she mumbled, her voice muffled by my chest.

"Yeah, me too,"I said. She pulled away from me, wiping some tears from her eyes. We smiled at each other."What do you say we grab a bite? I'm starved."She nodded eagerly.

"So am I,"she said. We both stood up and walked out of the room, feeling better than we had in a long time.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Lots of character development this chapter. The action will start back up next time.


	13. Chapter 13

Wow, I've never had writer's block this bad before.

Chapter 13:A Day of R&R

It had been two days since Serenity had been purified, and we were now in Rustboro City, the Pokemon Center, to be exact. After defeating Roxanne yesterday, we had come here to rest, and had unanimously decided to rest for the entire day today. No battling, no Chrome Syndicate, we weren't even going to travel. At the moment, we were relaxing in the lounge, talking amongst ourselves avidly about nothing of particular interest. Serenity was sitting near me, simply because she enjoyed being near me. However, our conversations died down as a girl strode over with blonde scraggly hair and wearing an outfit that left little to the imagination. She stood right next to the seat where Serenity and I were sitting, hands on her hips.

"Move, thing," she ordered, looking at Serenity."The humans are going to talk."

Five seconds passed with an incredibly hostile silence in the air. I noticed Serenity put a hand to her mouth, offended, while the others glared daggers at the intuder. I wrapped an arm around Serenity, frowning at the rude girl.

"No one insults or gives orders to my friends,"I said, my calm tone betraying my irritation."Try again."She gave me a look that nearly made me gag in disgust. It instantly told me she was a slut.

"I'm a big fan of yours, Mr. Sinnoh League Champ,"she purred."I bet it must be lonely on your journey, so let me keep you company..."She reached a hand for me, but paused when I inched my head away. She slid into the seat behind me and tried again, but I moved my head again and the others began to growl. She glared at them.

"What's with the rats?"she asked angrily. Okay, this girl was _really_ pissing me off, but she seemed to be completely oblivious to my rage. Rude and stupid. Yeah, that's attractive...

"I believe I just told you not to insult my friends,"I said coldly, glaring at her

"Come on, you know you want me," she tried again in a pathetic attempt of a seductive voice. "You wouldn to want to hang around with those filthy rats over me, right?"

"Filthy?"the ice in my voice could have frozen Articuno herself."For your information, they've bathed just yesterday."I smirked cruelly."And I just remembered something my mother told me about girls like you. I believe it was along the lines of 'Don't touch that, you don't know where it's been.'"She gasped in shock, then walked off indignantly in a huff. The others began to laugh and cheer.

"That's why you're the boss, boss!"Zaps hooted, laughing hysterically.

"You showed that stinking girl!"even the naive Zephyr couldn't stand her. Not surprising, really.

Psyche nodded, chuckling in amusement as he said "It seems even you can only take so much before your anger gets the better of you."I shrugged as Serenity smiled up at me.

"While I do appreciate you defending us, don't you think you could try not to get so angry?"she asked."I don't like it when you're mad."

"Sorry. I just can't stand it when anyone insults you guys,"I said honestly."You're the only friends I've got, after all."I shrugged."Well, aside from the Legendaries, but we don't hang out with them very often."I looked up in thought, scratching my chin."I wonder what they do with their free time..."

"It varies between us, actually,"a new voice spoke. We all turned our heads to see Rayquaza in his human form walk up to us. As one would expect, he wore mostly green clothes. He was pretty tall and, well, lanky, to be blunt.

"What's up, Ray?"I asked as he sat down across from me."Something new come up?"I hoped to Arceus not. Like I said, I was wanting this to be a day of relaxation for the team after that gym battle.

He shook his head, much to my relief."Nope. Just checking up on ya."He grinned fiercely."I gotta say, I like how you sent that whore off."I just shrugged again.

"Well, what have you been up to?"I asked, changing the subject.

"The usual thing, patrolling the ozone layer, keeping the idiots in check, yadda yadda,"he replied nonchalantly. I think it's pretty obvious who 'the idiots' are.

"Hey, what DO you do in your free time?"I asked, curious.

He scratched his chin."Well, I don't have a lot of free time, but whenever I do, I just like to sit back and relax. Nothing special. I like to watch the clouds go by, just from a different perspective than the usual, y'know?"He chuckled. I nodded, smiling.

"Sounds nice,"I said.

"What are you gonna do today?"he asked, looking through the team.

"All we're doing today is relaxing,"I said."We'll get back on the road tomorrow, though."He nodded, standing back up.

"I gotta go, Ken,"he said, holding his hand forward. I gladly shook it."Good seeing you again."

"Back at ya,"I said."See you at the next meeting."

"So long,"he said, then walked off. I looked at my watch.

"Well, he managed to kill about 2 minutes,"I muttered."Heck, not even that much."

"What do we do now?"Anubis asked. I shrugged.

"What do you guys want to do?"I asked."This city ain't exactly a well-known vacation spot."They all looked amongst themselves with raised eyebrows, all wondering the same thing.

"Um, I think I might know what we can do today,"Serenity said. We all looked at her."On the way here, I noticed a watering hole just on the edge of the woods. It was pretty big. Maybe we could go relax there?"I blinked. That idea was pretty appealing. I looked at the others.

"What do you think?"I asked.

"Sounds good to me!"Anubis asked."We haven't gone swimming in ages!"

"Probably cause you and Ken are the only good swimmers out of all of us,"Fang muttered.

"Eh, what the heck?"Zaps said with a shrug."Not like we got anything better to do."

"It should be rather relaxing,"COREM said. Psyche nodded in agreement.

XXXX

"Wow, you sure this a watering hole?"I asked Serenity. The reason I asked was because it looked more like a small lake.

She shrugged."We weren't that close to it when I first saw it, so I couldn't really tell."

"Fair enough."

"Move it or lose it, Slowkings!"Anubis shouted, running forward and diving in. I quickly hopped back, not wanting to get my clothes wet.

"I'll go get my swim trunks on,"I said, walking through some of the shrubs and out of their sight.

XXXX

"Alright, I'm back,"I said, walking back into the clearing, now wearing black swim trunks. I looked around; Anubis was leisurely floating on his back in the water. Zaps was standing near the edge of the water with a nervous expression on his face. (He couldn't swim very well.) Psyche was levitating a few feet above the middle of the water, eyes closed in meditation. Zephyr was splashing about in the water like a kid. (Turns out they were waterproof. Go figure.) Fang was snoozing peacefully in the shade of a tree, and I couldn't find Wrath anywhere. Serenity was...staring at me with her mouth hanging open slightly. I tilted my head."Is something wrong, Serenity?"She shook her head, as if snapping out of a daze.

"Uh, wh-what...?"she stuttered.

"What were you staring at me for?"I asked. Her cheeks went pink as she looked away.

"I've...never seen you without your shirt on..."she mumbled.

"Oh..."was my reply.

"You're....very...muscular,"she said quietly, her blush deepening. I looked down at my torso. I guess I was pretty ripped, thanks to all my training. It was certainly an improvement from before all this started. I looked back at Serenity. Even without psychic power, I could tell she was very embarrassed, so I decided to change the subject.

"Where did Wrath go?"I asked. She blinked, then looked towards the lake.

"They went to the lake bottom,"she said."They said that they wanted to think. About what, I don't know."

"Huh,"I said, then another question popped in my head."Do you know how to swim?"A sullen expression crossed her features.

"Y-yes..."she said quietly."My parents taught me how before...the incident."I flinched slightly.

"Sorry..."I mumbled. She smiled up at me.

"It's alright,"she said."As long as I'm with all of you, I'm happy."I smiled as well.

"Good to hear,"I said."C'mon!"I quickly ran past her and jumped into the water, making a nice splash in the process.

"Nice one!"Anubis said, grinning at me. Zephyr cackled insanely, splashing even more.

"SPLASHY!"he squealed happily. I looked back at Serenity, who calmly hopped into the water, then shivered violently.

"It's cold!"she shouted.

"It's not that bad,"Anubis said dismissively.

"SPLASHY!"Zephyr repeated.

"Don't worry, you'll adjust to it,"I told her.

"Easy for you to say!"she said, swimming over to us while looking at Anubis."You have fur."She looked at Zephyr."You can't even feel the cold."

"SPLASHY!"

She looked at me."And you're resistant to the cold."

"Well, how about I warm it up then?"I offered. All three gave me freaked out looks, even Zephyr. I smacked my forehead."NOT LIKE THAT!"I held my hand open, creating a small fireball."Get it?"

"Ohhhhh,"they all said. I rolled my eyes, then placed my hands against the surface of the water, concentrating. I felt the heat emanate from my hands, slowly beginning to warm the water considerably. When I felt it was warm enough, I stopped.

"That feels kinda nice,"Anubis mumbled, then sank into the water up to his nose. I looked at Serenity, who also seemed rather relaxed.

"Who knew you were a walking hot spring?"she joked. I cracked my neck, laying back in the water, hissing as my muscles began to loosen. I glanced at Zapperton.

"You coming in?"I asked.

"Uhhh..."he mumbled.

"SPLASH!"Zephyr squealed, splashing water at the Electivire and getting his legs wet.

"HEY!"he shouted angrily. Zephyr just kept on spraying him."CUT IT OUT!"

"I DON'T WANNA!"Zephyr screamed at him. Serenity giggled at his childish nature.

"DON'T MAKE ME COME IN THERE!"

I chuckled and laid back. This was the life. No missions, no training, just peace, quiet, and traquility.

"SPLASHY!"

"THAT'S IT!"

Well, sort of.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Okay, that took way too long. Sorry.


	14. Chapter 14

Time to meet Ken's rival.

Chapter 14:The Anti-Hero

"LAND HO!"Briny shouted as an island came into veiw. We had backtracked through Petalburg Woods and ran back into the sailor, who had offered to bring us to Dewford Island.

"Finally,"Zaps muttered weakly, leaning over the railing. Turns it out he was prone to seasickness, which he had found out the hard way on our boat ride to Hoenn. It was kind of strange, really. He was the fastest and stealthiest member of the team, and yet he couldn't handle rocking back and forth a little.

"Zaps, you do know that once we're done at Dewford, we'll be right back on this boat, right?"Anubis asked. The Electivire groaned in response.

"Poor Zapperton,"Serenity said, smiling sadly at him."We should try and get our business done as soon as possible for his sake."I nodded in agreement.

"That's just what I was thinking,"I said.

"Wimp!"Zephyr shouted.

"Oh, Excuse me for having a stomach!"Zaps shouted angrily, then groaned and leaned over the railing again.

"This is why I am glad we are not an organic creature,"COREM said as he stared at the retching electric pokemon.

"And we are grateful that we're a spirit,"Wrath said."You mortals are such messy creatures."

We eventually reached the island, much to Zaps' relief. There wasn't much of a dock, it was barely any bigger than our boat. Then again, our boat wasn't that big either. We walked along the beach towards the city, enjoying the nice breeze that blew across the sand. Once we reached the city, we noticed there weren't a whole lot of people here, though I supposed that's to be expected, since we were on an island. We walked around the city for a while to look for the gym. And of course, on the way, I _had_ to bump into some drunken idiot.

"Watch it, you little punk,"he growled/slurred, glaring daggers at me. I rolled my eyes and tried to keep walking."Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"I don't care,"I replied calmly, not even looking at him. I sighed as he grabbed my arm and turned me to face him.

"You know, I wouldn't mind beating the shit outta you,"he spat. I just blinked boredly at him.

"Again, I don't care,"I said flatly. He got right in my face as the other watched silently, other people gathering around us. Great...

"Well, what else am I supposed to do with my time?"he asked. I waved my hand in front of my face, trying to wave away the stench of alcohol.

"Maybe you can learn to breathe through your nose,"I muttered. Everyone laughed while the man rolled up his sleeve, then pulled his fist back. But just before he could attempt to hit me, a black-clad hand grabbed his arm, combined with an unknown voice that was slow, calm, cold, and a little frightening, really."I wouldn't do that if I were you."

We turned our heads to see a young man who looked about 18. He wore a long blue trenchcoat with red pockets and lining. His skinny body was clad in a seamless set of black clothing underneath his long jacket. He had messy white hair that was held back from his face by a mirrored visor pushed back over his forehead. He had a pair of intense yellow eyes over a nose coated with a stripe of white paint. A lean, dangerous-looking Umbreon stood next to him, looking like it was ready to pounce in an instant.

"I don't know you are and I don't care,"the man said, turning his attention to the teen. I took a step back, I didn't need my powers to see that this guy was someone who knew his way around the streets."But I'll rip your fuckin' head off if you don't get out of here."

The teen wasn't fazed in the slightest. He actually smirked."Pal, I've literally heard worse threats from a 5-year old."I couldn't help but grin. I was already starting to like him. The drunkard was obviously pissed by the insult, which was proven when he pulled his fist back to land a punch.

He never got the chance. The boy snapped his fingers, and the Umbreon pounced before the man could react, knocking him down and visciously attacking. The boy looked at me, examining me curiously.

"Aren't you Ken Woods, the Sinnoh League Champ?"he asked casually, as if his pokemon mauled thugs every day. It probably did.

I tilted my head."Does the whole damn world know my name, now?"He shrugged.

"Probably. Hell if I know,"he replied, glancing back down."That's enough, Umbreon."The night fox then calmly trotted back over to its trainer, leaving the mangled drunk unconscious on the ground. The boy looked through the large crowd."This ain't a circus act, folks."

I followed his example."Move along, nothing to see here,"I said, waving a hand dismissively. The crowd hesitated, looked at the now growling Umbreon, and quickly dispersed, a few people carrying the man away. I looked back at the guy."So, who are you?"

"Name's Wes,"he said, putting his hands in his pockets. I blinked in surprise.

"Whoa, as in Wes from Orre?"I asked."The guy who dismantled two criminal organizations in one shot?"He grinned.

"Grand Champion of Mt. Battle and all four Orre Colosseums,"he said proudly.

"Nice,"I complimented."So, what are you doing in Hoenn?"

"Same thing as you, I'll bet,"he said."I'm here with my girl to take on the Hoenn tournament."

"Your girl...Rui?"

He nodded.

"Well, damn,"I said, smirking."Imagine that. Two champions tackling the same region."

"Should be interesting,"he agreed, smirking as well. He looked at my team."The famous team, huh? Not a bad looking bunch."

"Thanks...I think,"I muttered as they came up to us."What about your team?"

"Well, there's Umbreon here,"he said, kneeling down and petting the fox's head."I've also got Espeon, a Skarmory I, uh, _got_ from my boss..."

"Got?"I repeated suspiciously, eyebrow raised."You mean stole?"

"Got, stole, borrowed, appropriated, whatever the hell floats your boat,"he said."In my defense, he _was_ a shadow pokemon."

"Ah. Anything else?"

"Well, I've got...Plusle and Minun,"he muttered embarrasedly.

"Say what?"I asked, trying not to chuckle."What about all the other Shadow Pokemon you purified?"He scowled.

"Rui forced me to let most of them go,"he said angrily."But I was able to keep..."He looked around, then back at me."Can you keep a secret?"

"You have no idea, man,"I said, thinking about my own big secret. He raised an eyebrow for a moment, then shrugged.

"I've got Ho-oh with me,"he said in a hushed voice. Then it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"But I've seen Ho-oh before,"I said."And it wasn't that long ago either."

"I got my Ho-oh back in Orre, after completing the 100-floor Mt. Battle challenge,"he told me."He chose me as a worthy trainer for saving his land from the Shadow Pokemon project. The one you saw was probably his brother, if you saw one at all."I said nothing in response."I had the three beasts, too, but like I said, Rui made me let them go."He scowled.

"So, where is she right now?"I asked.

"Said she was heading towards the beach,"he said."She took my Plusle and Minun with her."He frowned again.

"_Anyway_,"I said, hoping to change the subject before he could get angrier."I take it you're here to challenge the gym?"

He nodded again."You, too?"I nodded.

"So..."

"So..."

"Who goes first?"we asked in unison. We stared at each other for a long moment.

"Three pokemon,"Wes said, backing up while his Umbreon stood at the ready, and putting his visor over his eyes.

"No time limit,"I said, doing the same, my team following suit. I looked at ZC, then tilted my head quickly. They nodded, floating forward and staring the Umbreon down.

"Start."

"Umbreon, Faint Attack,"he said.

"Agility,"I countered. Umbreon disappeared as ZC began flying around at high speed.

"Wait for it,"Wes muttered, watching his movements intently."Now!"Umbreon appeared out of nowhere and slammed into him, despite his fast movements.

"Good shot,"I muttered."Tri-Attack."Recovering quickly, ZC fired the multicolored beam at the black fox.

"Jump!"Wes said. Umbreon leapt into the air, the attack passing by harmlessly."Confuse Ray!"At the apex of his leap, the Umbreon fired a glowing orb of energy. I couldn't help but smirk as the attack hit ZC, knowing it wouldn't work.

"Ice Beam,"I said calmly. Zephyr then fired the frozen beam at the spot Umbreon was going to land at. It couldn't react in time to avoid it, and was sent tumbling backwards as Wes' jaw dropped. Umbreon shook himself of some bits of ice caught in his fur."Sorry, Wes. But my Porygon-Z is already cracked like an egg, so confusion attacks won't work on him. He was already confused from the start."

"Yep!"Zephyr agreed, not the least bit insulted.

"Well, that's different,"Wes said, eyebrow raised."I've gotta admit, I've seen weirder, though."Zephyr gasped in shock. Well, okay, he made a gasping noise. After all, he didn't need to breathe.

"NOTHING'S WEIRDER THAN MESELF!"he said angrily. Umbreon raised an eyebrow.

"Use signal beam,"I said calmly, ignoring his little outburst. He then fired a swirling beam of energy, angrily, I might add, at Umbreon.

"Use Faint Attack to dodge it,"Wes said. Umbreon then disappeared, effectively dodging the attack.

I blinked."Nice,"I said. Thinking quickly, I said "Fly up as high as you can so he can't reach you!"He proceeded to do just that, flying up at least seven stories into the air.

"Clever,"Wes complimented, smirking."Most people have no idea how to dodge-Huh?"He stared up as Zephyr continued to fly up and up and _up_. My jaw dropped.

"NO! THAT WAS A FIGURE OF SPEECH!"I screamed as Zephyr disappeared into the sky. I groaned and buried my face into my hands as Wes burst into a laughing fit."Good Arceus, that little guy's gonna drive me insane one day."

"THAT WAS RICH!"Wes hooted through his laughter, holding his sides. His Umbreon reappeared, laughing as well. I looked at the team, who were all staring straight up.

"Think he'll ever come back down?"Fang asked.

"He's got to, he's our comic relief,"Anubis said humorously.

"COREM will most likely bring them back,"Psyche said."Hopefully before they reach the Ionosphere..."

"Wait, do you hear that?"Serenity asked, eyes shut. I raised an eyebrow, then strained my ears, trying to drown out Wes' laughter. I barely made out a distant screeching noise. I looked back up, seeing a glowing spot in the sky that was rapidly becoming bigger. I looked back at Wes, who still chuckling a lot."Uh, Wes?"He wiped a few tears from his eyes and looked at me.

"What?"he asked, still smiling. I jabbed a thumb straight up, causing him to look to the sky, squinting his eyes."...Is that...?"

"Uh-huh."I nodded.

"He's not gonna..."

"Yep."

"Can't you...?"

"Nope."

"Maybe we should..."Wes backed up.

"Oh yeah."I did the same. We all glanced at Umbreon, who was still laughing pretty hard.

"Umbreon..."Wes said anxiously. He didn't seem to hear."_Umbreon_..."I looked up, seeing that the spot was getting a _lot_ bigger.

"UMBREON!"We all shouted. The fox stopped laughing and looked around with a confused expression. We all pointed straight up, causing him to look up as well. His pupils shrunk as the screeching Zephyr got less than 30 stories away.

"Oh _crud_."I didn't think an Umbreon could get that pale.

Then, as if time itself had stopped on the battlefield, Zephyr froze just _inches_ away from Umbreon's head. The two stared at each other.

"Hi!"Zephyr said cheerfully.

"...Whaaa...?"

"Imma Hyper Beam you now, kay?"Zephyr asked, then fired said attack a split second later, catching them both in a powerful explosion. We all stared silently as the explosion died down, revealing that they were both knocked out.

"Oooookay..."Wes mumbled, recalling Umbreon.

"That was _definitely_ in the Top 5 weirdest things he's ever done,"I said, recalling him.

"I take back what I said,"Wes muttered, pulling out another pokeball."That Porygon-Z was the weirdest thing I've ever seen."I could have sworn I felt ZC's ball shake a bit when he said that. Wes then threw another pokeball, releasing an Espeon. I looked over my shoulder.

"How about a psychic showdown?"I asked, looking at Psyche, who nodded and walked forward, facing the Espeon down.

"Shall we?"Psyche asked.

"Let's,"Espeon said with a grin. But just before either of us could call out an attack, there was a shout.

"WEEEEES!!"

He paled.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Sorry, for the abrupt ending. This chapter is probably long enough, though.


	15. Chapter 15

Well, it took longer to update than I would have hoped, but here you go.

Chapter 15:Double Dewford Gym Battle

Wes spun on his heel to see a red-headed girl with two pony tails walking up to him, a Plusle and Minun flanking her sides.

"Uhhh, hello, Rui..."he muttered quietly. My team and I looked amongst ourselves with amused expressions. We could tell this was going to be hilarious."How you doin'?"

"How am I doing!"Rui asked angrily."What about you? You said you were going to take on the gym here! Not pick a fight with some random trainer!"

"B-but--"Wes stuttered.

"No buts!"she said angrily. Wes immediately shut his mouth, and it took a lot of willpower to keep myself from snickering, though I still heard the team snickering behind me. She stalked past him and over to me, then looked at me apologetically.

"I'm so sorry that my idiot friend bothered you,"she said."We just got to this region from Orre, so he doesn't know how to behave sometimes."

"Uh, actually, we were battling to see who would battle the gym leader first,"I told her. Her eyes widened.

"...Oh,"she said quietly, looking back at Wes timidly, who had a sour frown on his face."Umm...sorry, Wes."

"Can we just get on with our battle?"Wes asked dryly. She nodded vigorously, quickly moving out of the way and shrinking in embarrassment, the Plusle and Minun following her. I shook my head and chuckled in amusement, then looked back at Wes.

"Well, if there are no more interruptions, what do you say we get started?"I asked. Wes nodded in agreement, now grinning as the psychics faced each other down again.

"HOLD IT!"a voice shouted.

"Now what?"Wes and I asked in unison, annoyed to be interrupted yet again. We all turned our heads to see a muscular, blue-haired man running up to us.

"Who the hell are you?"Wes asked, glaring as the man walked in between us.

"I'm Brawly, the Dewford gym leader,"he said, effectively surprising us both."I heard about this and I decided to check it out. You two are battling to see who'll challenge me first, right?"We nodded."Well, how about you both battle me at the same time?"

"A double battle?"I asked as Wes smirked.

"Now, _that_ I can do,"he said as his Espeon strutted back over to him.

I held my chin as Psyche walked over to us."We haven't done a double battle in months."I said, glancing at Wes."And I've never battled with a partner before."

"I've got plenty of double battles under my belt,"Wes said, crossing his arms and looking back at me."But I haven't battled with a partner before, either."

"I _do_ have one condition, though,"Brawly said, garnering our attention again."I would prefer if you didn't use your psychic pokemon, since I specialize in fighting types."

"Deal,"we said in unison, then smirked at each other. Brawly smiled, nodding.

"Right this way!"

XXXX

We were now in Brawly's gym, and I was surprised to see that it looked more like a rock type gym, with large stones and such strewn about the battlefield. Rui was sitting on the sidelines, Plusle and Minun at her sides.

"This will be a double battle between the Gym Leader, Brawly, and the challengers, Ken Woods and Wes...uhh..."the referee glanced at my temporary partner."Umm, what was your last name again?"

Wes just blinked at him."Don't know, don't care,"he replied calmly, then belched rather loudly. I snickered, covering my face with one hand and shaking my head. The Ref rolled his eyes.

"Trainers, choose your pokemon,"he said. As I looked at the team, I noticed Wes pluck a pokeball from his belt, twirling it on his finger.

"Hey, Zaps, you feelin' any better?"I asked the Electivire, who shook his head.

"Sorry, boss. My stomach still feels like its on a rollercoaster,"he grumbled.

"Alright, how about you, Fang?"I asked. The Gliscor nodded, gliding past us and perching on the battlefield.

"Let's do it,"he said with a grin. Wes then threw his pokeball forward, releasing a Skarmory, who looked at Fang questioningly, then at Wes. He simply jabbed a thumb at me. Skarmory nodded, then looked forward again. Brawly then threw two pokeballs forward, releasing a Machoke and a Hariyama, both looking rather buff. We both pulled our respective shades over our eyes.

"Begin!"

XXXX

"Let me start this off,"Ken said."Fang, give us the advantage! Sandstorm!"The Gliscor proceeded to flap his massive wings, whipping sand up everywhere on the battlefield and effectively obscuring their enemies' view of them.

Wes grinned."Nice! Skarmory, use Aerial Ace on Hariyama!"Skarmory screeched as he dove into the storm, completely unaffected by it thanks to his steel typing.

"Hoo boy,"Brawly muttered, having heard the command over the storm."Brace yourself, Hariyama!"Hariyama held his massive hands forward as Skarmory burst through the sand, his wings colliding with the yellow fighters hands. It was pushed back a few feet, Skarmory's head just inches from Hariyama's."We can't afford stay on the defensive! Charge in their with Cross Chop, Machoke!"The fighting pokemon crossed his arms and charged into the sandy blizzard.

"Use X-Scissor to counter, Fang!"Ken shouted. The Fang Scorp pokemon nodded, charging into the storm with his claws crossed and glowing. The two pokemon collided in the middle, and began to throw punches at each other, countering each other's moves as well. The duo of hero and theif tried their best to peer into the storm while Brawly had focused his attention on Hariyama and Skarmory.

"Can't see a damn thing,"Wes grunted.

"Me neither,"Ken replied.

"Slam it into the ground, Hariyama!"Brawly shouted. Hariyama proceeded to do just that, smashing the steel vulture into the ground rather painfully.

Wes growled, having heard the resulting thud."Get back into the Sandstorm, Skarmory!"Squawking in acknowledgement, Skarmory fluttered back and out of Brawly's view."Stay there and use Roost!"Hidden by the sands, Skarmory perched himself to rest himself. Brawly grunted in annoyance.

"You rest, too, Hariyama,"Brawly said. The fighting type nodded, sitting down and resting his muscles.

Meanwhile, Fang and Machoke were still going at it, punching away at each other pincer and limb. But it was a losing battle for Machoke, having the disadvantage of being pounded by the sand. Eventually, fatigue caught up with him, and Fang managed an uppercut that threw him out of the storm and knocked him unconscious upon landing.

"Machoke!"Brawly shouted in surprise. The referee held up his flag.

"Machoke is unable to battle!"he declared for all to hear.

"Yes!"Ken shouted with a grin.

"Not bad,"Wes complimented with a smirk."One down, one to go."

Brawly recalled his Machoke with a sigh."Hariyama, blow this stupid sandstorm away with Whirlwind!"Hariyama stood up and began swinging his large hands to blow the sand away, revealing the two flying types within.

XXXX

"Why didn't he just do that earlier?"Wes whispered to me out of the corner of his mouth.

I shrugged."Maybe the thought just didn't occur to him until now,"I said, then we turned our attention to the battle.

"Hariyama, use Arm Thrust on Gliscor!"Brawly shouted. Hariyama, who I noticed had been sitting down, threw himself to his feet, then charged at Fang. He crouched slightly, pincers held forward to meet the giant hands flying at him.

"I don't think so,"Wes said calmly."Skarmory, Drill Peck!"The vulture screeched, launching forward to intercept Hariyama, spinning into him beak first and knocking him over. I noticed Fang look at Skarmory with a grin as he landed next to him.

"Thanks!"he said. Skarmory said nothing, but smirked at Fang and nodded.

'Just like his trainer,'I thought to myself a smile. They both turned towards Hariyama, who stood with in a sumo position. Wes and I glanced at each other."Let's finish this."

"Oh, yeah,"he said with the usual smirk.

"Force Palm,"Brawly said calmly. I could sense that he knew he was beat, but he was going down fighting. Literally.

"Fang, use Stone Edge to stop him in his tracks,"I said. Hariyama charged forward, but was cut off by many sharp stones shooting up and leaving many cuts across his body.

"Take him out with Brave Bird,"Wes said smoothly. Skarmory erupted with a yellowish glow, then shot forward and slammed into Hariyama, knocking it unconcious.

The referee held up our flag."Hariyama is unable to battle! Ken Woods and Wes are the winners!"We both grinned and high-fived. Rui and the electric mice cheered for Wes and Skarmory while my team cheered for me and Fang.

"Good job, Skarmory,"Wes said, holding out his pokeball."Have a nice rest. We'll get you something to eat when we get back to the Center."Skarmory grinned as the red beam struck him and pulled him inside it. Fang glided over to us and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I smiled.

"Yeah, Fang. We'll get you something to eat, too,"I said. Looking satisfied, he glided over to the others. Wes and I looked forward to see Brawly walking up to us with a tired smile.

"I don't know what I was thinking,"he said as we pulled our shades to our forehead."Challenging two champions in a double battle was obviously not my best idea."He handed us each a badge. I put mine in my inner coat pocket while Wes put his somewhere in that big trench coat of his.

XXXX

After having rested for the night at the pokemon center, we were now walking along the beach towards the harbor, chatting avidly about our previous adventures.

"And then Ho-oh swooped in out of nowhere and shot a Sacred Fire attack right at the helicopter, blowing it up and ruining Evice's escape,"Wes told me."After that, I beat the 100-floor Mt. Battle challenge and caught Ho-oh."

"Nice,"I said as we reached the harbor."Well, I guess this where we seperate."

"For now,"Wes said, smirking at me. I turned to him with a smirk and we shook hands.

"See ya down the road,"I said, turning around and walking onto the boat, the others following after saying their good-byes with Wes' team.

"So long!"I heard Rui shout.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Okay, a little clarification for this chapter. I put most of the battle in 3rd person POV because of the sandstorm. Ken wouldn't have been able to tell what happened.

And yes, they will see Wes again, but probably not for a while.


	16. Chapter 16

Had some writer's block to deal with. Sorry.

Chapter 15:Birdbrained Problem

"Thanks for the ride! Again!"I shouted back up at Briny, who laughed heartily.

"You're welcome again!"he said cheerfully."So long!"With that, he drove his boat away. I turned towards the others, who were looking around Slateport curiously, eyeing the different shops around the area. I reached inside my pocket and pulled out Zapperton's pokeball.

"Alright, you can come out now, Zaps,"I said, tossing the red and white sphere forward and releasing the Electivire, who looked around warily.

He sighed in relief."Glad that's over,"he muttered, looking around with the others."So, this is Slateport, eh?"I nodded.

"If memory serves, this is one of the most bustling trading ports in the world,"Psyche said as we began to walk towards the city.

"If memory serves, it's also the only one in Hoenn,"I said, cracking my neck as I put my goggles over my eyes. The sunlight was kinda harsh.

"Is there a gym here?"Anubis asked me. I shook my head.

"Not that I know of,"I said.

"Hey, Ken!"a young voice shouted. We all turned our heads to see a young boy running up to us. He had blonde hair and wore a shirt with many blending colors that looked like it had an eye in the middle. I didn't recognize him at all, but something about him seemed familiar. We turned to the boy with raised eyebrows as he ran up to us.

"Do I know you, kid?"I asked, having the strangest feeling that I did.

"Yeah, it's me, er, Jerry!"he said, smiling at me.

I stared at him blankly."Doesn't ring a bell."

"Aw, c'mon. Jerry?"he asked, emphasizing his own name. I blinked once, having an epiphany. I squinted, peering into the boy's mind to confirm my suspicions.

'Jirachi?'I asked telepathically. He nodded. This was the first time I had seen Jirachi's human form. He rarely ever used it, so something must have been wrong."What's going on?"

He frowned."It's the three birds,"he said."They're at each other's throats again."

I stared again."And?"I asked.

"You gonna alert us whenever those three look at each other funny?"Anubis asked as I I crossed my arms.

"It's Lugia's job to keep them in check, isn't it?"

"That's the problem,"Jirachi said."Lugia's gone. We don't know where he is."I blinked in suprise.

"Oh,"I said, scratching my head."Okay, that is a problem."

XXXX

We were now standing at a cliff on Shamouti island, watching the three birds as they battled in the skys above the ocean, the others standing around me. I happened to glance down at the beach, noticing the islanders watching the spectacle as well, probably wondering where Lugia was. I turned towards Jirachi, who was sitting on Fang's head.

"Jirachi, could put the islanders to sleep so we can work?"I asked him.

He nodded."Easy, but you have to wish for it first,"he said. Okay, here was the deal, folks. While it's true that Jirachi usually had to go to sleep for a thousand years, ever since I had began my journey, Arceus had made it so that he could stay awake for 11 months a year, after which he'd have to sleep for a solid month, with the exception of going to sleep at night like other diaturnal creatures. This apparently made his "wish power" a bit weaker, but he had said it was well worth the trade.

"Alright, I wish the islanders would fall asleep until we're done here,"I said. Nodding, Jirachi closed his eyes while his true eye opened, glowing with power. I looked back at the islanders to see them slowly dropping to the ground, falling asleep as Jirachi's power obviously took hold of them. Smiling, I looked back at Jirachi, who sighed tiredly.

"Done,"he said a bit groggily."Can I go to sleep, too?"

I chuckled."Sure, kid. Go right ahead."Nodding again, Jirachi closed his eyes ( all of them) and fell asleep right there atop Fang's head, a small cocoon forming around his body. Anubis gently plucked the Wishmaker from his perch, cradling him in his arms."Okay. Anubis, Zaps, Serenity, stay here and keep an eye on Jirachi, The rest of you, let's go stop those dumb birds."Right after saying this, I clenched my fists and concentrated, causing my armor to appear over me as the others flew towards the birds.

I quickly flew after them, dodging past stray attacks that happened to come my way. I couldn't help but wonder what they were arguing about this time. Believe it or not, they were actually a threesome of mates, and all of their epic battles were actually marital spats, which was both hilarious and ridiculous at the same time. Lugia was basically they're marriage conselor; and by conselor, I mean the guy who weakened them to the point where they couldn't even peck at each other.

'Ken,'Psyche said telepathically.'We've decided that Fang and ZC will go after Zapdos, while Wrath and myself will handle Articuno. Do you believe you can take care of Moltres on your own?'

'Sure, I've taken on worse,'I responded, then paused.'Well, unless it's that time of the month, then I'm pretty much hosed.'I heard Psyche chuckle before we cut off our telepathic connection. I flew towards the blazing phoenix, who was firing a flamethrower at her electric counterpart. I braced myself as she turned her head to glare at me for a moment, then her expression softened just slightly.

"What are you doing here, Ken?"she asked, her voice laced with anger.

I sighed."What else? We're here to calm you three down,"I told her.

"'We're?'"Moltres asked dubiously. I jabbed a thumb towards the other two birds, and Moltres turned her head to see the others confronting them. She sighed, looking back at me."This doesn't concern you, Ken."

"Since Lugia is missing,"I started, which made her blink in suprise."It sure as hell does."

"Lugia's missing?"she asked, looking down at the ocean."I didn't notice. We'd usually fight him right about now, come to think of it."

"Well, that's why we're here instead,"I said, causing her to look back up at me."Now, why don't you just try to calm down so we can talk about this like civilized hu-err, poke-"I paused for a moment."Beings?"Moltres stared at me, and for a moment, I thought she would attack. But then she cracked a faint smile and nodded.

XXXX

"Excuse me, Articuno!"Psyche shouted, gaining the ice bird's attention as he and Wrath levitated up to her."We'd like to speak with you for a brief moment, if that's alright."Articuno tilted her head.

"Aren't you two from Ken's team?"she asked, eyebrow raised. Psyche nodded.

"Correct, ma'am,"he said politely."If you would allow us the honor of speaking with you, we would like to help you work out your problems with Moltres and Zapdos."

Articuno giggled."Any particular reason you're acting like I'm royalty?"

"I am merely showing respect, ma'am, since you ARE a legendary,"he pointed out.

She shook her head, but actually smiled."Ah, cut it out. I can't stand the 'ma'am' crap,"she said. Psyche nodded.

"Very well,"he said.

"So, do you know why Lugia hasn't come up to bite our heads off yet?"Articuno asked.

"You've noticed?"Wrath asked, breaking their own silence. The ice bird nodded.

"Unlike Zapdos,"she said, practically spitting out the bird's name."I don't completely lose my mind whenever we become angry and get into a fight."

"I see,"Psyche said."Quite admirable, if you ask me."He sat in midair with his legs crossed."Now what do you say we help you work through whatever friction you have with your others?"

Articuno sighed."Oh, alright. I'm really getting tired of fighting with them all the time anyway."

XXXX

"EEEEEK!"Zephyr screeched as he flew out of the way of another thunderbolt. Fang lunged forward and tried to swing a pincer at the bird, but was met with a slash to the stomach, and he quickly glided back. As Zapdos prepared for another attack, Fang glared at Zephyr.

"Why did you hafta go and insult him?"he asked angrily.

"All I did was call him an overgrown feather duster!"Zephyr defended stupidly.

"And you did not process that he would take offense to that!"COREM asked incredulously.

"No! He _totally_ overreacted!"Zephyr shouted.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"Fang screamed, lunging at the Porygon-Z. Zephyr screeched as they collided, tumbling in midair as Fang tried to rip his head off. Zapdos, now very confused, called off his attack as the two flyers continued to roll through the air.

"Uhhh,"he muttered, not knowing what to do. Finally, he shrugged and just stayed there, watching as Fang continued to beat ZC to an electronic pulp.

XXXX

"...and I just wished he'd be a bit more sensitive, y'know?"Moltres said to me, as we were both on her island at the moment."He just likes battling way too much. Don't get me wrong, I love him dearly, but he can just be such a blockhead sometimes!"

I nodded sympathetically."Yeah, I hear where you're coming from,"I said."Dealing with idiots can be a pain in the ass, or in your case, tail feathers, I guess."She laughed.

"You're really not bad for a human, Ken,"she said with a smile.

"Heh, heard that one before,"I said with a slight smile of my own. I noticed her look into the sky behind me, and I looked over my shoulder, seeing Articuno flying towards us, flanked by Psyche and Wrath. I glanced back at Moltres, who seemed sort of pensive. The three of them landed a few feet away from us, then walked over to us, the two large birds looking at each other intently.

"Moltres,"Articuno said quietly.

"Articuno."

There was a pause.

"Well, now that the introductions are over,"I said humorously, hoping to break the tension between them."How about you to try talk to each other?"

"But Zapdos isn't here,"Moltres said. I blinked once, then turned around and looked into the sky. I was barely able to make out the yellow form of Zapdos, who seemed to be watching to dots flying around erratically. Psyche and I glanced at each other, then nodded and closed our eyes. I looked at the scene clairvoyantly, seeing a very strange sight.

"He's with ZC and Fang,"I said.

"And they're fighting for some reason,"I heard Psyche say. Articuno huffed.

"That's so typical of him,"she scoffed.

"No, I mean, ZC and Fang are fighting each other,"Psyche said.

"Then what's Zapdos doing?"Moltres asked.

"He's just laughing at them,"I said."Hysterically, as a matter of fact."I opened my eyes and we all looked at each with raised eyebrows.

XXXX

"This is hilarious!"Zapdos squawked out as the fighters tumbled through the air. Fang flew back and growled as ZC glanced at Zapdos, noticing how he was still laughing.

"Yay! It worked, COREM!"Zephyr said happily, confusing the flying types.

"Of course it did, brother,"COREM said calmly."Two minds are better than one, after all."Fang and Zapdos looked at each other for a moment, then back at them.

"Uh, what are two talking about?"Fang asked.

"It's quite simple, Fang,"COREM said."That little fight we just had? Zephyr and I planned it from the very start."The two nearly dropped from the sky at hearing that.

"You _planned_ that?"Zapdos asked, stunned.

"Yep!"Zephyr said cheerfully.

"Correct,"COREM said."Even the part where Zephyr insulted you. We apologize for that, by the way."The two others blinked.

"How'd you plan that so fast?"Fang asked.

"Being in one body, we are capable of communicating with each other at light speed,"COREM said.

"Yep!"Zephyr repeated.

"Now that you're in a better mood,"COREM said, addressing Zapdos."I believe I saw the others heading towards Moltres' island. I think we should head there so that you can work out your problems."Zapdos said nothing, looking away.

"...Fine,"he growled. They all flew towards the island of the pheonix.

"Yep!"

"You're not gonna stop saying that, are ya?"

"Yup!"

"...Oy..."

XXXX

"Hey, here they come,"I said, seeing the three of them flying towards us. The birds sighed deeply as they landed in front of us."Well, then. The gang's all here."

"Uh-huh,"Zapdos muttered, glaring at the two female birds, who in turn glared at him and each other. I sighed irritably, then stomped the ground, causing it to shake enough to snap them out of their anger and gaining their attention.

"Alright, whatever your problem is, just get over it already!"I said angrily, looking through them."You need to listen each more often. Stop obsessing about fighting so damn much! Save it for the Chrome Syndicate, not each other!"They all looked at me with stunned expressions."Tell me something:How would you react if one you actually won your stupid battles, and then the two who lost were captured by the Chrome Syndicate?"They're eyes widened; obviously, they hadn't considered that."It would be all. Your. Fault."

"You've...got a good point,"Zapdos said.

"I guess we have been acting pretty stupid over the years..."Moltres said shamefully.

"Yeah,"Articuno mumbled. The three looked at each other silently.

'Should I go get the others?'Psyche asked me telepathically.'We still need to find Lugia, after all.'

I nodded at him, and he teleported away.

After another moment of silence, Zapdos spoke up."...I'm sorry,"he said quietly.

"Me too,"Moltres said.

"Same here,"Articuno agreed. The three fluttered together and enveloped each other in their wings, smiling in content.

"Awww,"Zephyr said quietly.

"Quiet a beautiful moment,"Wrath said softly. I couldn't help but agree. It was really sweet to see them like this.

But as fate, the jackass, would have it, the peace didn't last long, as the island suddenly began to rumble violently as the waves began to shake. We all looked on with wide eyes as a massive ship erupted from the ocean's surface that was about half the size of the island. And wouldn't you know it? It was chrome and had a familiar CS insignia on it.

Guess who?

"Hoo, boy,"I muttered, then Psyche reappeared with the others. I glanced at them

"Whoa,"Zaps said, eyes wide.

"Now _there's_ something you don't see every day,"Anubis remarked.

"I'm going to assume that's where Lugia is,"Psyche said with a hint of sarcasm.

I cracked my neck, looking back at the massive ship, seeing a figure standing on top of it. It was a woman who couldn't have been any older than thirty. She had long red hair, a red and chrome striped shirt and blue jeans. She also had a chrome bandanna around her head.

"Well, isn't that sweet?"she asked, her voice so nasally I actually had to resist the urge to laugh."The three stupid birds are all hugs and sunshine. How nice."I looked back at the elemental. They were glaring at her, but it seemed they were having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"You sound funny!"Zephyr said with a slight giggle."Say more words!"The woman seemed to ignore him, instead looking down at me.

"Well, I was going to wait for them to knock each other out, but it looks like you've ruined my plans, Element Knight,"she said.

"Told ya,"I said out of the corner of my mouth as the birds gasped in shock.

"Eh. it doesn't matter,"the woman continued."This ships got more than enough firepower to capture them. I just need to get rid of you."

I chuckled."Worse things than you have tried, lady,"I said, smirking as lightning crackled between my fingers."They've all failed so far, and you certainly won't be the first."

She then made a nasally laugh that felt like nails against my eardrums."We'll see!"She walked backwards, disappearing into the massive sub/battleship. I looked back at the others.

"You guys ready?"I asked them.

"I was born ready, partner!'Anubis said with a grin.

"Just give the word and we'll rip that thing apart, boss!"Zaps said.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!"Zephyr shouted, flailing his arms around frantically, obviously looking forward to seeing something explode.

"Yes, what he said,"COREM said calmly.

"Err...may I go, too?"Serenity asked. I gave her a very stern look.

"No, Serenity,"I said."I'll admit, you _do_ have battling skills. But you have absolutely no experience fighting the Chrome Syndicate. I want you to stay with the birds."She looked a bit dejected, but nodded. I sighed, kneeling down to her level."I just don't want you to get hurt, alright?"She gave a faint smile, then nodded again."Good."I stood back up, looking at the large birds."Watch after her for me, will ya?"They nodded.

"She couldn't be in safer talons,"Moltres said.

"Give 'em hell,"Zapdos said with a grin. I turned around.

"We'll do just that,"I said. We launched forward.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Well, that was longer than I thought it would be.


	17. Chapter 17

Not sure what to say here, so I'll just say enjoy.

Chapter 17:Sinking the Submarine

"Alley-oop!"I said as I flipped onto the ship's deck, landing in a kneeling position and looking around for any drones. Joy of joys, they were beginning to pour out from multiple hatches in the floor and walls as the others landed behind me. Dandy.

I held a finger up, creating a small fire ball on the end of it as I grinned."Who wants to get toasted first?"They aimed their weapons at us. I grinned wider."Ooh, I was hoping you'd say that!"With a burst of wind, I leapt into the air, allowing the others to blow the drones apart with their attacks. The fire ball grew in my hand and I hurled at one last drone, effectively destroying it. I fell back to the deck and brushed myself off, looking around. I glanced over my shoulder.

"Anubis, Fang, and ZC, you're on demolition duty. Wreck this thing's weapons however you can,"I said."And feel free to demolish anything that gets in your way."

"No problems there!"Anubis said with the usual grin.

"Should be fun,"Fang smirked as Zephyr squealed gleefully.

"Psyche, Wrath, I want you to go look for Lugia."

Psyche nodded."Very well."

"What about me, boss?"Zaps asked.

"Easy. You do what you do best, Zaps,"I said, grinning at him."Appropriate."

Zapperton laughed."I'm on it, boss!"He pulled out his loot bag. Where he kept that thing, I would never know.

"And what will you do?"Wrath asked me.

"What else? I'm gonna make sure the captian goes down with her ship,"I said, then phased through the floor, landing in a metal corridor.

I looked back and forth a few times, not sure of which way to go. I shrugged and ran in a random direction. It was times like this I wished I had a ride of some sort. Nothing like a motorcycle or anything, I can't even ride a bike. Just something to get me around faster. Maybe Mewtwo could whip something up for me. He was a technological genius, after all. Hell, he was every kind of genius.

Anyway, after a few moments of running, I came across a fork. I had a dreadful feeling this was going to get really annoying, really fast.

How pleasant...

XXXX

I looked back and forth real fast-like, not wanting any-a those stinkin' drones to get the drop on me while I looked for this place's stash. I had just snuck into this giant...thing; I think Boss called it a 'submarine.' Eh, whatever, I didn't care. As long as I got the job done and the Boss was satisfied, I'd be plenty happy, see?

I'm Zapperton, the Spark Theif, and I love to steal stuff, see? To me, stealing and sneaking around was a bigger thrill than battling any day of the week. Lurking around in the dark, avoiding detection by the skin-a your teeth, and in the end, if you don't make too many mistakes, you get a nice, fat reward. I really loved my job on the team, see?

I heard a weird humming noise, which I knew by now was the sound of moving drones. I climbed up a wall faster than a blink, grabbing some pipes on the ceiling with my hands and tails, watching four drones moving along the floor. I waited until they were outta sight before I dropped back down. Pathetic. It didn't matter how many times I pulled that trick, they always fell for it, hook, line, and sinker, see?

Mon, those things were dense...

XXXX

"Subtlety is _so_ not your strong suit, Zephyr,"Anubis muttered as Zephyr destroyed another laser cannon with psybeam. He was standing on a walkway that curled around the sub, just under the sub's weapons, Fang and ZC flying near him. The computer program turned his head to look at the Lucario.

"...What's subtlety?"

Anubis rolled his eyes."I rest my case."

"Uh, fellas. We've got some incoming drones,"Fang said, motioning his head towards a squadron of drones surging down the walkway towards them. Anubis grinned.

"Sweet! For a minute there, I thought this would be too easy!"They charged forward.

XXXX

"Hmm,"Psyche hummed as he and Wrath travelled down a hallway at a leisurely pace, not seeing any point in rushing. They had yet to run into any drones, most likely thanks to their teammates.

Wrath glanced at him."Something on your mind?"

"Merely pondering the most efficient way of finding Lugia in this metal monstrosity,"Psyche replied calmly. Wrath glanced at something on a wall.

"Why not use a map?"they asked, stopping. Psyche paused in mid-step.

He started to turn while saying "Wrath, where in the world are we going to find-?"He stopped when he noticed what Wrath was looking at: a map on the wall."...I see. Good idea, Wrath."The Spiritomb chuckled.

XXXX

I had been right. I had taken at least 12 turns by now, and I had NO idea where I was. I groaned in frustration as I continued to run down the corridor I was in, though I noticed that this one had been significantly longer than the last ones. I took that as a good sign and began to fly to give my legs a rest. Man, flying was always such a thrill, even if I was just flying down a simple hallway. Eventually, I found a automatic door at the end, much to my relief. I landed in front of it and noticed an electronic lock to the side of it. Yeah, like that was gonna stop me...

I started punching away at the door as hard as I could, leaving a sizable dent with each blow. I had to admit, it hurt my arms a bit, but I had felt worse. Once I was sure I had weakened it enough, I reared my fist back and threw one final punch that knocked the door down.

"Knock knock,"I said calmly, walking into the room. Ten bucks goes to the one who guesses who was standing in the middle of the room, packing some _serious_ heat that was aimed right at my head.

Yep. Little miss Nasal Nose.

And you're not getting the money.

XXXX

My jaw dropped as I walked into another room.

Gold. GOLD! EVERYWHERE! I HIT THE MOTHERLOAD!

For a moment, I thought I was seein' things. But after I'd rubbed my eyes, it was all still there! Practically BEGGING me to take it! I didn't know what to take first, see? There were even _jewels_ for Arceus' sake! I laughed deviously, rubbing my hands together and looking around. Too bad I didn't notice the cameras in the room while I was stuffing my loot bag...

XXXX

"MOARBOOMPLZ!"Zephyr screeched, blowing up yet another squad of drones. He giggled madly.

COREM took control for a moment."Zephyr, maybe I should give you a break. What do you say?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO...!"Zephyr screamed continuously, not pausing in the slightest as he fired a psybeam into a few more drones.  
"...OOOOOOOOOOOOO...!"When he would stop, not even Uxie would know.

"Is it me or does he just keep getting weirder?"Anubis asked Fang rhetorically, smashing another drone to bits with a well placed force palm attack.

The Gliscor rolled his eyes as he took off a drone's head."It's just you."

XXXX

"I believe this is it, Wrath,"Psyche said as they walked towards a door that two human guards were standing. Upon seeing the two pokemon, the men took aim at them with their guns.

"Stop!"one of the men said. Psyche rolled his eyes, then flicked his spoon, causing the weapons to fly out of their hands. The men fearfully put their backs to the wall.

"Imbeciles,"Psyche said calmly, psychically pulling two radios from them and crushing the devices. He opened the door as Wrath glanced at the two men with a bored expression. The two pokemon went inside and saw what, or rather who, they had came for: Lugia. The sea beast was trapped in a force field suspended high above them.

"Who are you?"Lugia asked, looking down at them.

"Do you not recognize us, sir?"Psyche asked."We are from Ken's team, remember?"

"Ah, that's right,"Lugia said, smiling down at them."Psyche and Wrath, right?"

"Correct,"Wrath said as Psyche nodded.

"We are here to free you,"he said.

"Well, good luck with that,"Lugia said with a sigh."I've already tried busting out of this thing. I'm ashamed to admit it, but this thing's too strong for me."

"There are other methods aside from brute force,"Psyche responded, walking over to a computer while Wrath stood guard at the door.

"Well, it's the only option I have from my current position,"Lugia said.

"Point taken."

XXXX

"You made a bad mistake coming here, Element Knight,"the woman said."It'll be the last mistake you'll ever make."

"Yeah, that's what most two-bit bad guys say,"was my calm response."Or bad gal, in your case."I shrugged.

She fumed."In case you've forgotten, I'M the one with the advantage!"She held up the two high tech machine guns in her hands for emphasis.

"Riiiiiiight,"I said skeptically."In case _you've_ forgotten, I can do this."I held an arm forward, my armor glowing silver as I manipulated the metal floor in front of me, creating a large steel barrier from it right in front of me. I leaned against it nonchalantly, looking at my guantleted hand boredly. I knew she couldn't see me at the moment, but I couldn't resist."Now, tell me: _Who_ has the advantage?"

"Me,"I heard her say darkly, followed by the sound of a laser charging.

"Yuh oh."Eyes wide, I leapt up a split second before a laser peirced the barrier I had created, right where my head had been, no less. I quickly landed on all fours, then bounded to the right as she began firing a steady stream of laser bullets at me.

XXXX

I was grinnin' my head off as I ran towards the door, see? This had been the easiest and most rewarding job EVER!

Yeah, that's what I was thinking just before a bunch of drones started swarming in.

I froze, dropping my loot bag to the ground.

"...Awwwww, SHIT!"

XXXX

"And that should do it!"Anubis grinned as his Aura Sphere took out the last cannon.

"Heh, that wasn't too tough,"Fang said, landing next to the Lucario.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!"Zephyr continued to scream. No, he hadn't stopped. _At all_, which was REALLY pissing off the other two pokemon.

"Will you cut that out already?"Anubis asked angrily, glaring up at the mad creature.

"OOOO-IwishIcouldbutI'mstuck!-OOOOO...!"Zephyr responded. They couldn't help but snicker at that.

"Just get down here!"Fang shouted. Zephyr then floated down to the walkway, where Anubis immediately smacked him in the back of the head, finally causing him to stop.

"Thank you,"COREM said, exasperated and glad that he had control again.

"Why didn't you just stop him?"Anubis asked.

"Believe me, I tried,"COREM muttered, drooping slightly."Thankfully, he has gone into sleep mode. So, we should have a bit of peace for the moment."

"Thank Arceus,"the other two said in unison, sighing in relief.

XXXX

"There we are,"Psyche said, pushing one final key before the force field fell, freeing Lugia, who stretched his wings.

"Ahhhh, much better,"he said, cracking his long neck.

"Shall we take our leave?"Psyche asked.

Lugia nodded, descending to them."Definitely. I can only imagine the havoc the birds have caused without me to keep them in check."

"Actually, we've managed to calm them in your absence,"Psyche told him, causing Lugia to blink in surprise."In fact, we may very well have cured their marital problems indefinitely."

"Heh, I'll believe that when I see it,"Lugia muttered, rolling his eyes."Now, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way."He reared his head back and prepared a hyper beam.

XXXX

Either she was toying with me or she was a lousy shot, since I hadn't been hit yet. Not that it would have mattered. This armor was for more than show, after all. Once she had emptied another clip, I stopped to take a breather.

"So. What's _your_ name?"I asked as if talking to a five year old.

"None of your business,"she growled, reaching for what was most likely a laser pistol at her hip. What was up with her and lasers?

"Mmm, I'm gonna call you Wendy,"I said calmly, nodding."You look like a Wendy to me."She growled at me angrily, which was what I was going for. I could be a serious jackass when I wanted to be.

She finally managed to ready her weapon and took aim at me. I positioned myself to jump at a moment's notice. We stared each other down, which was probably awkward for her, since she couldn't see my face.

Then something rather anti-climactic happened. A gigantic, yellow beam of energy tore through the wall to my right and her left, shooting right in between us and causing me to jump back in alarm.

'Looks like Psyche and Wrath got Lugia out,'I mused to myself as the beam died down.

XXXX

I blinked when the beam disappeared, showing that the rest of the drones had been scrapped. Raising an eyebrow, I peeked into the hole the beam had come from, praying my head wouldn't get blasted off. I saw Psyche and Wrath walking real calm-like towards me.

"Uhhhh,"I muttered, blinking.

"Ah, hello, Zapperton,"Psyche said to me."I assume you're wondering what made this gaping hole?"

I nodded."Uh huh."

"We've managed to free Lugia,"Wrath said."Well, technically, Psyche did, but that's not the point. Lugia is exiting this vessel as we speak."

"So, we're gettin' outta here, right?"I asked 'em. Psyche nodded."Good."

XXXX

"...You guys saw that too, right?"Fang asked after the beam disippated.

"Uh huh,"Anubis said.

"Indeed,"COREM said.

"Okay. Just wanted to know I wasn't the only one."

XXXX

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"Wendy screamed furiously, glaring down the hole the beam had made.

"My assumption would be Lugia,"I said sarcastically, walking behind her to look down the hole as well. To my surprise, I saw Zaps, Psyche, and Wrath moving down the hole.

"Hey, boss!"Zaps shouted, waving an arm."You won't BELIEVE how much loot I got!"I looked at Wendy, who was aiming her weapon at them. I quickly grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, causing her drop the weapon.

"Don't you _dare_ do that again,"I growled fiercely.

"Who cares? They're just useless pokemon!"

She should NOT have said that.

XXXX

"Looks like they've busted out Lugia,"Zapdos said. He and the other two birds, along with Serenity and Jirachi, had just seen the massive beam blast through the side of the sub.

CRASH!

"And there he is,"Moltres remarked as the sea beast flew down to them.

"Are you alright, Lugia?"Articuno asked as he landed in front of them.

He paused."Yes, Articuno. I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

"What about Ken's team?"Moltres asked.

Lugia turned his head to look back at the ship."I'm sure they'll be out soon enough."

XXXX

Wendy grunted as she was thrown into the wall for the fourth time. She was covered in cuts and bruises. Chivalry was obviously the last thing on my mind at the moment.

"I think we're done here,"I said lowly, turning away from her and towards an opening that lead outside."Let's get out of here."The others followed me wordlessly. We landed on a walkway, where Anubis, Fang, and ZC were waiting.

"Hey, Ken!"Anubis said as they came up to us."We took care of all the weapons this thing had."

I nodded."Good job, you three. Now let's get off this damn thing."I jumped off towards the island, the others following. I spun at high speed, creating a massive whirlwind that slowed our descent considerably, giving Anubis and Zaps a soft landing. We walked up to the Legendaries and Serenity, who smiled at us.

"Nicely done!"Zapdos grinned at us.

"Now all we have to do is send that thing to the the bottom of the ocean,"Articuno said.

"I'll take care of that,"Lugia said, eyes glowing with power. He launched into the air, spinning like a top before diving into the ocean. The water began to rock the ship violently.

"We might want to take a few steps back,"I advised. Everyone did just that as the sub started tipping back and forth. Eventually, the waves caused the entire thing to capsize, creating a MASSIVE wave that surged towards us!

"Uh oh,"Anubis muttered, eyes wide.

"Anyone got any ideas?"Fang asked frantically.

Thinking quickly, I ran forward and thrust my arms into the water, my armor glowing blue as I concentrated.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"I heard someone shout. I said nothing as I focused my power on the water. I only hoped I had enough time for this to work before the wave destroyed half of Fire Island.

XXXX

"KEN, GET BACK!"Moltres shrieked.

"EVEN YOU CAN'T STOP A WAVE THAT BIG, BOSS!"Zaps shouted.

"KEN, PLEASE! RUN!"Serenity screamed. Ken growled, then roared as he swung his arms up, causing the water to surge upwards to create a massive, see-through wall of water.

"Whoa..."many of them said.

"PSYCHE! SERENITY! HELP ME HOLD THIS UP!"Ken roared."ARTICUNO AND ZC! HURRY UP AND FREEZE IT! QUICKLY!"Nodding, the two psychic pokemon held their arms up, implementing their psychic power to help hold up the massive water wall. Hesitating for only a split second, Articuno released a massive blizzard attack and COREM fired a powerful ice beam, gradually freezing the massive wall over. The others watched anxiously as the wave drew closer, hoping they could get it done in time. Just when it seemed the wave would batter them, they managed to freeze the wall entirely. The others managed to get back, but Ken fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

Zaps dashed over to him and grabbed him, pulling him back to where the others stood. As Ken sat down on the sand, they watched as the wave crashed into the wall with incredible force. For a split second, it seemed that the wall wouldn't hold. However, the wave fell back into the ocean where it belonged, causing them all to breathe out sighs of relief they didn't know they were holding.

Ken managed to smirk.'Enough irony for all of us.'He thought just before blacking out from energy loss, falling over. Zaps looked down at him.

"Boss? You okay?"he asked. He shook the human, getting no reaction."Boss? BOSS!"Everyone looked at him, moving over to them.

"What's wrong, Zaps?"Anubis asked.

"I think the Boss is down for the count, see?"Zaps muttered humorously. They all smiled down at the snoozing trainer, than heard a massive splash from the ocean. Alarmed, they all looked over to see Lugia flying over the massive wall of ice, giving them a regretful look.

"Where the heck _were_ you?"Zapdos asked, annoyed.

"Sorry, I was still weak from my escape attempt,"Lugia said, landing on the beach."I had to rest after I wrecked the ship."He then noticed Ken lying on the ground and managed to smile."I saw what happened. Can't say I blame him for being tired, that was one heck of a show."

"Hey, what happened to that lady with the nasal problem?"Anubis asked. Lugia frowned at that.

"I'm afraid she got away in an escape pod,"he said.

"Ooh, Ken's not gonna like that,"Fang remarked. Psyche nodded.

"Yes, you should have seen how angry he was when she insulted Wrath and I,"he said.

"Well, I got something that'll cheer him real fast, see?"Zaps said with a grin, putting his loot bag on the ground."Take a look at _this_!"He opened the bag, revealing that it was stuffed with plenty of gold and a few precious jewels.

"WHOA!"many of them said.

"Where'd you get all this?"a stunned Anubis asked the Electivire.

"It was inside a room in that big ship, see?"Zaps told them."There was so much of it everywhere, I thought I'd faint!"

"There was really that much in there?"Lugia question. Zaps nodded."In that case, we've certainly dealt them a heavy blow. The Chrome Syndicate will be set back for quite a while from losing so much funding."

"Maybe now we will able to relax for a while, yet,"Wrath said. Anubis then fell over in the sand, arms crossed behind his head.

"Fine by me, I could use some R&R after that,"he said calmly. Following his example, the others decided to relax as well as the sun set over the Orange Islands, refracting through the ice wall to create a beautiful rainbow effect.

XXXX

End of Chapter

I'll bet you're wondering why I put part of this chapter in Zapperton's POV. I just wanted to give you all a little insight about how he thinks. As you can see, he truly sees Ken as his boss, as well as a good friend. You also know why he likes stealing so much.

Btw, can anyone guess what Ken's last thought was referring to?


	18. Chapter 18

Well, this took longer than it should have. Oh well.

Chapter 18:The Haunting Past Returns

I groaned as I awoke, the morning sun stinging at my eyes. Was I outside? I couldn't remember what happened. I reached up to my forehead to pull my goggles over my eyes, only to realize I was in my armor.

"What the-?"I mumbled, sitting up and looking around.

"Ken, are you okay?"I heard a gentle voice asked me. I looked over my shoulder to see Serenity standing there, watching me curiously.

"Serenity?"I asked groggily, my head still swimming."What happened? Where are we?"

"You don't remember?"she asked, sitting down next to me.

I clenched my eyes shut, trying to think."Ah, that's right. I used up a lot of my strength making that massive water wall."I focused for a moment, causing my armor to disappear, then put my goggles on, relieving my eyes of the sun's glare. I sighed deeply."Much better."

"How are you feeling?"she asked.

"Like my head's been dunked in a puddle of mud,"I muttered."Flaming mud."She snorted and cracked a smile, sounding like she was holding back a laugh.

"How is it that you manage to be so humorous even when you're in discomfort?"she asked me.

I brought a hand to my chin, pretending to think."Natural talent, I guess."I shrugged nonchalantly, which made her giggle a bit. I was really starting to enjoy hearing her laugh.

"Hey, boss!"a familiar voice shouted. We looked over our shoulders to see Zapperton running over to us, carrying his surprisingly large loot bag. Once he reached us, he set the bag on the sand and we stood up."Boss, I got the score of the century from that sub, see? Take a gander at this!"As soon as he opened the bag, my jaw dropped a mile. There was a LOT of gold in that bag!

"Holy..."I mumbled, unable to say more.

"I knew you'd be happy!"Zapperton said, grinning widely.

"Well, yeah, I'm happy!"I said, smiling as well."You seriously got all this gold from that sub?"

"Yeah, boss!"Zaps said."But this wasn't all of it, see? There was tons of it EVERYWHERE! I couldn't even take it all!"

"Wow,"I said."This'll keep us supplied for months! Awesome job, Zaps!"His grin widened even more, though I wasn't entirely sure why.

"So, where's everyone else?"I asked.

"Beats me, boss,"Zaps said with a shrug, holding his bag over his shoulder.

"Want me to see if I can sense if they're nearby?"Serenity asked.

"No need,"I said, noticing some familiar figures approaching us. The other two looked in the same direction to see the rest of the team, Jirachi, and the Legendary birds.

"Hey, Ken!"Anubis said as they approached us."How you feeling?"Jokingly, I motioned towards Serenity with both hands.

She giggled and said "Like his head's been dunked in flaming mud."Many of them chuckled.

"Which basically means you're fine,"Psyche said humorously.

"Can we get back to Hoenn, now?"I asked Jirachi."We should be getting back there soon. We've got 3 months before the Hoenn championship starts, and we've only got two badges so far."

The Wishmaker nodded."Sure thing!"

XXXX

After saying our good byes to the Legendary Birds (and Lugia), Jirachi had teleported us right in the middle of Route 110, just south of the waterway, route 103. After he had disappeared, we started heading north to Mauville City. It was relatively quiet until we had run into a young trainer who, surprisingly, didn't know who I was.

"Look, kid, I'm kind of in a hurry,"I told him. Not to sound cold or insensitive, but I really didn't want to waste time with some overzealous kid.

"Too bad! I'm the best trainer in the world!"he said. Cocky. I didn't like that."You're gonna battle me and you're gonna lose, loser!"I was annoyed by his attitude, to say the least, but I wasn't going to let a kid get to me. I walked past him silently, motioning for the others to follow."What's the matter? Afraid you're gonna lose?"I said nothing, and I could sense he was getting angry, but I didn't even look at him.

There was a thump.

"Ow!"I heard Serenity shout. I immediately spun on my heel to see her lying on the ground, the boy standing over her, smirking. Resisting the urge to snarl, I stomped past the others and back over to them, pulling my goggles to my forehead, and then helped Serenity to her feet.

"Aww, your weak little poke-"The kid shut up the instant I grabbed him by the shirt with one hand and hauled him up to my eye level.

"Listen to me, you pathetic brat,"I growled, glaring into his eyes."I don't have time to waste on a stupid little kid who obviously wasn't raised right and doesn't deserve to be a trainer."The boy's eyes widened to the size of plates."Get. Out. Of. My. Sight."I dropped him to the ground, and he frantically scrambled away. Taking a deep breath, I asked "You alright, Serenity?"I looked over my shoulder at her, seeing her nod, though her eyes were wide.

"Y-yeah, thank you, Ken,"she said."But why did you get so mad? He was just a child."

"Nobody mistreats you guys when I'm around,"I said, turning to face them."It's as simple as that."

"But I'm not really part of your team,"she said, blushing slightly.

"How do you figure that?"I asked as we started walking again.

"Well, I don't battle like the rest of you,"she said."I can't even help with your fights against the Chrome Syndicate."I just smiled at her.

"Serenity, you travel with us, you eat with us, and you sleep with us,"I told her."You're just as much a part of this team as anyone else here."

"Besides, if you weren't around, it'd be just us guys, see?"Zaps said.

"Yes, I must say, the ratio is just terrible,"Psyche remarked.

"You all do realize that nearly half of our being consists of female spirits, correct?"Wrath asked. We all looked at them.

"Seriously?"I asked.

"Of course,"Wrath said."You didn't all think that every single one of us was male, did you?"

"It...never really occured to me."

"Yeah."

"Didn't really care, see?"

"Pretty much."

"I had my assumptions."

"Chocolate shower curtains!"

"I actually thought as much."

"I really hoped not."

"Hmm,"Wrath mumbled, sounding mollified.

"Too bad Mew can't travel with us,"Anubis mumbled wistfully.

Fang rolled his eyes."If Mew was travelling with us, we wouldn't be able to sleep at night."Anubis glared daggers at the Gliscor.

"She is NOT hyper!"he said angrily.

"That's not what I'm talking about,"Fang said. Anubis blinked.

"Wait, what?"he asked.

"The Delcatty was let out of the bag a while ago, Anubis,"I said with a smile."Mew's bragged about it to Celebi. And you know how big her mouth is."

He started to blush slightly."Y-you mean...?"

"Yes, Anubis, we all know of your intimate time with Mew,"COREM said rather bluntly, causing Anubis to blush deeper.

"Whatchoo guys talkin' 'bout?"Zephyr asked. We all hesitated, remembering that Zephyr had never heard of 'The Starly and the Combee,' being inorganic, insane, and, well, a child. I scratched my head nervously.

"Uhh, COREM, I think it's time you had 'the talk' with Zephyr,"I muttered, making air quotes with my fingers.

"Huh?"Zephyr asked.

"Err, well, Zephyr, it's like this,"COREM started, then they went completely silent for a moment, their eyes flashing back and forth rapidly, which meant they were communicating mentally."And that's how it works."

"...Oh,"Zephyr said."Okay."We all looked at them, eyebrows raised.

"That's it?"I asked."That's all you've got to say?"

"Whaddaya mean?"Zephyr asked."It sounds really icky, but it's simple."He shrugged. We stared at him for a moment.

"Wow,"I finally said."You took that better than I did when I first heard it."

Anubis shook his head."Just when I think the little guy can't top himself."The rest of the trip was quiet, and we reached Mauville by 3:00. We walked into the pokemon center and up to Nurse Joy, who gasped at us.

"Oh, hello there!"she said with a smile."You're Ken Woods, right?"

"Yes, we'd like to rest here for a while, get the team a health check, you know?"I asked.

"Of course, right this way,"she said, motioning to a doorway. They all walked towards the door as I made my way to a table near the wall, sitting down and relaxing. About a minute later, Serenity came walking back out the door and towards me.

"That was fast,"I said.

"The nurse decided to check me first, since I'm the only female,"she replied, sitting down next to me."She says I'm pretty healthy, aside from that bruise I had when that boy pushed me down."I couldn't help but frown at that."Don't worry. She gave me one of those potion things and fixed it up."We heard the door slide open, then turned our heads to see a bad looking teen walk in, a cold expression on his face. He wore a dark green shirt under a black leather jacket with a set of three small spikes on each shoulder. He also wore a pair of black jeans and sneakers. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. Something about the guy was very creepy and unsettling, and it wasn't just his appearance. I heard Serenity gasp and looked down at her, seeing an absolutely terrified look on her face as she stared at him.

"What's wrong, Serenity?"I asked quietly.

"I-I-I-It's h-h-h-h-him!"she cried out, backing into me as much as she could. The boy turned his head to look at us, and Serenity cringed with fear. Who the hell was...wait a minute...

"Well, well, if it isn't the little weakling,"he said, his voice cold and hateful. He walked over to us, eyes narrowed. Serenity trembled violently as she held me in a death grip. The boy and I stared at each other for a moment."You're Ken Woods."

"Yes I am."

"What the hell are you doing with that pathetic thing?"he asked, glaring at Serenity. Her grip tightetened as I realized who this was.

He was Serenity's old trainer.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Cliffhanger! C'mon, you all saw it coming. I had to introduce this guy eventually. 


	19. Chapter 19

Warning:There's a bit of graphic violence implied in this chapter. Just a heads up.

Chapter 19:Psychic's Lament

The realization had hit me harder than a bullet. I wanted to stand up, kick him to the ground, and rip out his spine. I was THAT mad. I was surprised at myself for keeping a poker face.

I had to say it."You're her old trainer."

"Yeah, so what? Answer the damn question, dumbfuck."I must have had the patience of a saint.

"Go away,"I said calmly, looking forward and away from him. You cannot imagine how pissed he was.

"I said answer the question, you stupid bastard,"he snarled.

"Why did you treat her the way you did?"I asked suddenly, keeping my tone calm.

"How do you know?"he asked me.

"Telepathy,"I replied right off the bat."So?"He rolled his eyes.

"That pathetic little bitch isn't worth anything,"he said dismissively."Just kill it off."

That tore it.

XXXX

Ken stood up and gave Jack a cold glare that could have even made Mewtwo flinch. The anger I sensed from him gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. I didn't think it was possible for him to even GET that angry...

"You have five seconds,"his voice dripped with venom as he spoke. I was beginning to feel a bit scared of him.

"Or what?"Jack challenged with that chilling smirk of his. I could never forget that smirk...

"Or I'll do one of three things,"Ken continued."One:I'll choke you to death with your own intestines after tearing them out of you."Jack blinked, that cold smirk disappearing."Two:I'll rip your arms off and beat you to death with them."He grabbed Jack by the collar and pulled him him close, their faces only inches away from each other."Or three, my personal favorite."A bone-chilling grin spread across Ken's face. I had to resist flinching at the sight of it."I crack your skull open and tear your brain out piece by piece until I find the part responsible for sentient thought and CRUSH IT UNDER MY FOOT!"He screamed the last part furiously right in Jack's face, which made his eyes widen. Was I dreaming? I had never seen Ken, or anyone, for that matter, so...angry. The sheer hate I sensed from him, it reminded me of that horrible time I spent as a Shadow Pokemon.

Jack took a deep breath, pulled away from Ken's death grip, and then turned around and walked away. Ken just glared after him, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. While the ordeal had scared me, I couldn't help but wonder why Ken acted that way. Did he...did he really care that much about me? So much that he would make such terrible threats? While I haven't been travelling with them for very long, I knew Ken pretty well by now. He wasn't one to make idle threats, which is what scared me the most.

I looked to the door that lead to the back room to see the others staring at Ken with wide eyes and open mouths. Oh, dear...

XXXX

I glanced to the side, noticing the others all staring at me. Zephyr was actually cowering behind Zapperton. I can't believe how much that hurt to see. I looked away and down at my fists, slowly unclenching them. I abrubtly turned away from them and swiftly ran out of the Center.

XXXX

The others all looked at me questioningly, eyes still wide.

"What in blazes just happened?"Psyche asked, both looking and sounding shocked as they came over to me.

"Who was that guy, Serenity?"Fang asked, glancing at Jack, who was sitting across the room and staring at us coldly."And what'd he do to piss Ken off so bad?"

"He's...my old trainer,"I said weakly. They blinked in unison.

"Ah, that would explain it,"Wrath said.

"No wonder he was so furious,"COREM said.

"Is he gonna be okay?"Zephyr asked.

"Maybe someone should go talk to him,"Fang suggested.

"You sure that's a good idea?"Zaps asked."After all that, he'd probably want some alone time."He looked at Anubis."Hey, Anubis. You've known him longer than the rest of us. What do you think we should do?"Anubis crossed his arms.

"I dunno,"he admitted."I've NEVER seen him get that angry. Not even before our adventure started."There was a moment of silence as we thought of what to do.

XXXX

"...I'll go talk to him,"Serenity said quietly. The team looked at her.

"You sure?"Anubis asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure,"she said, standing up."I'll be back soon."With that, she ran out the door after their trainer. The pokemon looked amongst themselves for a moment, then noticed the teen in black standing up as well. Without so much as a glance in their direction, he walked out, a scowl on his face. Their eyes narrowed.

"Zaps,"Psyche said, glaring at the exit.

"I'm on it,"the Electivire responded, quickly running after them.

XXXX

I looked back and forth as I walked through the city. I wish I had some idea where to find him. I stopped and closed my eyes, trying to sense where he was...there! He was sitting on a bench a few buildings away and around a corner. I opened my eyes and started to walk forward, but was stopped by a hand grabbing my shoulder. The hand spun me around and I froze.

It was...Jack.

"Since that idiot trainer of yours isn't the smart enough to get rid of you, I'm going to do him a favor,"he sneered at me. I started trembling. I...I couldn't move. I was paralyzed with fear. He grabbed me and threw me into an alley, where I landed on my back. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't find my voice. All those terrible memories began flooding back as he walked towards me, pulling out a pokeball. He released Reptis, a very cruel Arbok who had nearly squeezed me to death multiple times. He grinned at me nastily, flicking his tongue.

"Heh, and here I thought you died when you tried your little essscape attempt,"he hissed, slowly advancing on me."You know, the bossss actually liked it when you ssshowed sssome ssspine and tried to attack him."

"I-I w-w-w-wasn't in my r-r-r-right m-m-mind then,"I managed to stutter out.

"Obviousssly,"the poisonous snake said, rolling his eyes.

"You hungry, Reptis?"Jack asked with a smirk. The snake nodded, looking at me hungrily. Oh no..."You've been dying to eat her for a while now, haven't you?"Reptis hissed loudly, and I scurried back as much as I could, only to hit a wall."Go right ahead. But be sure to take your time. I want to see her face when you take that first bite."He laughed hysterically, as if the whole thing was just some cruel, sick joke. It probably was to him. Reptis slithered towards me slowly, looking at me hungrily. I tried to concentrate so that I could teleport away from the sadistic snake, but as soon as we made eye contact, I froze, unable to focus. It...it was his hypnotism! I had fallen for this so many times by now! How could I not immune to it?

"Now, now, jussst relax,"he hissed soothingly."Thisss won't hurt a bit."

'Ken, help me, please!'I thought desperately, then I noticed someone standing behind Jack. Was that...no. He was far too big. Who was that?

XXXX

Jack felt a large finger tap him on the shoulder. He turned around just in time to see something yellow and black just before a giant fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying about 4 feet back with a shout of pain. Reptis quickly turned around to see his trainer lying on the ground in front of him, groaning. Serenity, now free of the Arbok's hypnotism, took a good look at her savior.

"Z-Zapperton!"she cried out. The Electivire cracked his knuckles as Reptis lunged at him angrily. With reflexes that instantly put the Arbok to shame, his arm snapped forward and he grabbed Reptis by the neck. Before the poison snake could even blink, Zaps sent a powerful surge of electricity through him before tossing him onto his trainer. Serenity quickly ran past them and up to the electric thief, who looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"How many time do I hafta tell you and the others that only the Boss can call me that?"he asked rhetorically. Serenity smiled.

"Thank you, Zaps,"she said gratefully. He nodded, looking back at Jack and Reptis, who had gotten up to glare at him.

"Go find the boss,"he said, stepping forward."I'm gonna have some fun with these punks, see?"She nodded, then quickly ran off. Zaps' tails crackled with electricity as his eyes narrowed."So, you like picking on helpless little girls, do ya? Let's see how you like THIS!"He charged forward, fist reared back and readying an Ice Punch.

XXXX

I buried my face in my hands as I tried to calm down and steady my blood pressure. Taking a deep breath, I leaned back on the bench I was sitting on, looking up at the sky. It was around noon, if the sun's position was any indication.

"Ken?"

I quickly looked forward, seeing Serenity standing just a few feet away from me.

"Serenity?"I asked."What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay,"she told me, walking over and sitting down next to me."Are you?"

I sighed."I've been better."She didn't say anything for a moment.

XXXX

"...His name is Jack,"I said quietly. I decided not to tell him about the incident. I didn't want him getting angry again. Ken looked at me in confusion, then blinked.

"Oh,"he said, looking forward."...I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Hmm?"

"My anger,"he clarified, sighing."It's just...when I think about all the possible things he could've done to you, I just...it makes me sick."He gave me a regretful look."I hate that I can be so short-tempered sometimes."

"But you can't help it,"I reasoned."After all the things you've been through in your life, it's amazing that you can bring yourself to like any human."He looked down at the ground. I shuffled nervously and blushed a little."Besides, I think it's really sweet that you care that much about me."

He blinked again and looked at me."Of course I care about you. I care about you and the whole team. We're a family."I looked down in thought. Was that it? Did he just see me as a little sister or something? This thought depressed me for some reason. But why? It didn't make much sense. I did't like him like that...did I?

But...now that I think about it, when Reptis had me cornered, I had instantly thought of Ken. I wanted to see him come running in and rescue me. Did I really feel that way about him? No, of course not. That was impossible.

...Right?

XXXX

"...And then I came back here,"Zapperton finished, having explained what had happened to the rest of the team.

"We don't think we should tell Ken about this,"Wrath said.

"Yeah, if he found out about it, he'd probably tear the city apart looking for that guy,"Fang remarked. The others nodded.

"Then it's settled,"Psyche said."Mums the word on the whole ordeal."

"Who's Mom are we talking about?"Zephyr asked.

"It means we don't tell Ken about this,"COREM said."Understood, brother? It'll be our little secret."

"Okay!"

"Quiet, they're coming!"Anubis hushed, seeing Ken and Serenity walk in. Serenity looked at the team with a somewhat worried expression. They all smiled and nodded at her, and she smiled gratefully. Of course, Ken noticed the whole exchange.

XXXX

"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?"I asked. They all paused.

"Ummm,"Anubis mumbled.

"Why do you hafta be so smart?"Fang muttered.

I shrugged."Well, you guys must have a good reason, so I won't pry."They all sighed in relief, which confused me, but like I said, I wasn't going to grill them."So, what do you say we head to the gym?"

XXXX

End of Chapter

Hmm, looks like Serenity has some thinking to do.


	20. Chapter 20

We've finally gotten done moving into our new house. So, now I can update again.

Chapter 20:A Fateful Encounter

I didn't know how to feel when we walked inside the gym, because there were three people there I recognized. The first two were Wes and Rui, who I was happy to see.

The third person I wasn't so thrilled about. It was Jack, who was growling at the gym leader for a battle while Wes and Rui watched from across the room. When they noticed us walking towards them, Rui smiled and Wes grinned.

"Hey, Ken,"he said, the two of us hitting our fists together.

"Wes. Rui,"I greeted, nodding at them. I glanced at Jack."I see you've met Jack."I spat out his name.

"Yeah, and I gotta tell ya, this guy's giving off a bad vibe,"Wes muttered."I've met a lot scumbags in my life, but this guy just gives me the creeps. And that's saying something."

"I don't blame you,"I said."But there's something you might want to know."They both looked at me."Remember how I told you Serenity was turned into a Shadow Pokemon by her old trainer?"I pointed down at her for emphasis and they nodded. I tilted my head at Jack."Guess who?"They blinked and looked at each other, then an absolutely infuriated look crossed Wes' face, his lips curling into a raged snarl as he...well, let's just say if looks could kill, Jack would've disintegrated on the spot down to the last molecule, quite painfully at that. If my psychic senses were any indication, I'd say Wes was even angrier than I had been, if that was even possible. Damn...

"I'll kill him,"Wes growled through clenched teeth, eyes bloodshot as he clenched his fists."I'll _fucking_ kill him..."Rui firmly placed a hand on his shoulder, and some of his anger seemed to drain away as he looked at her.

"No, Wes,"she said calmly.

"But-!"

"No, Wes,"she repeated forcefully."You can't go around killing whoever you want. This isn't Orre."

"Don't worry, Wes,"I said. They looked at me as I smirked coldly."I've already given him a damn good scare today."

"What'd you do?"Wes asked. I could tell he liked the way I was smirking. I told them. Wes grinned while Rui gasped and covered her mouth.

"Um, wow,"she said quietly.

"Now that's my kind of threat!"Wes said approvingly, patting my shoulder. We looked over to Jack and the gym leader, who were walking towards us.

"Hello there,"the old man said."I'm Wattson. Are you here to battle me, too?"

"You got it, old-timer,"Wes said as I nodded silently.

"Well, this boy asked first,"Wattson said. I heard him hesitate slightly when he said 'asked,' which obviously meant 'demand.' What a swell guy..."So, I'm afraid you'll have to wait your turn."

Wes sighed irratably."Fine."

"If we have to,"I shrugged.

XXXX

"This will be a 3-vs-3 pokemon battle between the gym leader Wattson, and the challenger, Jack Masters!"the Ref said. The rest of us were all sitting on the sidelines on opposite sides of the room, watching with anticipation, excitement, and in Wes' case, impatience."Jack will choose his pokemon first!"

"Let's get this over with. Get out here, Sadic!"Jack shouted, throwing a pokeball forward and releasing a female Weavile. I heard a gasp behind me, then turned my head to see everyone staring at Zaps, who was staring at the Weavile with wide eyes and a gaping, quivering jaw.

"B-Boss..."he whispered hoarsely, pointing at the Dark and Ice type.

"What's wrong, Zaps?"I asked worriedly.

"Look...her left claw..."he said faintly. I looked back at the Weavile and looked at her claw, noticing what looked like a yellow ring. A light bulb went on in my head.

No. Effing. Way.

Was that really the Weavile Zaps had been looking for all his life? The descendant of the one who had stolen his ancestor's ring? What were the freakin' odds? I couldn't imagine how Zaps must have felt at that moment. I looked back at him, who was staring intently at the Weavile, a blank expression on his face. There wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell this was going to end pretty...

Or so I thought.

The Weavile glanced over at us, then did a double-take. It was easy to tell she was staring at Zaps. You know that old saying 'You could cut the tension with a knife?' You couldn't cut the tension between them with an axe. The Weavile turned to face us completely, then started walking towards us, much to the confusion of everyone but the team and I.

"What do you think you're doing, Sadic?"Jack asked angrily. The Weavile didn't even glance at him, continuing to walk towards us. Zapperton stepped in front of us as the Weavile stopped. There was a moment of silence.

"Are you the descendant of Zapperton Thunderos the First?"she asked, her voice calm and smooth. Zapperton nodded.

"And you're the descendant of Frostaria Glacielle,"he replied, his voice surprisingly neutral. There was another moment of silence as the Weavile looked at Serenity.

She nodded."Hey, Serenity."

"Hello, Frostaria,"she said quietly, a small smile on her face, which obviously confused me and the others. Frostaria looked back at Zapperton, giving him an appraising look. She breathed in, then exhaled deeply, breathing out a small, icy mist.

"So, what should we do now that we've found each other? Fight to the death or something like that?"she asked rhetorically, eyebrow raised.

"That's a good question,"Zaps replied blankly. Okay, what the f-ck was going on? Why was Zaps just shooting the breeze with her? I would've expected him to attack her the moment she approached, but here they were, just chatting like they were having tea!

"Sadic! Get over here already!"Jack snapped angrily. Frostaria glanced at him for a moment before turning around and walking back to the battlefield.

"If you want this,"she started, holding up the claw with the ring on it."Meet me behind the pokemon center at midnight tonight."She didn't bother to turn around. Once she reached her spot, she faced Wattson, who raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

"Time for a battle, Electrode!"he shouted, throwing a pokeball and releasing said electric type.

The Ref raised his flags."Begin!"While the two began battling, we all looked at Zaps, who sat back down in his seat, rubbing his head.

"What was that all about, Zaps?"I asked."Why did you just...talk to her?"

He sighed."Honestly, Boss, I didn't know what to do, see? I've been looking for that ring my whole life, my whole family has. But...I didn't know what to do. I was freaking BORN to find it, but I just..."He sighed again, trailing off and burying his face in his hands. Anubis patted his shoulder reassuringly. The Electivire looked at Serenity, then suddenly asked "What's she like?"

The Kirlia blinked."Frostaria, you mean?"Zaps nodded."Well, believe it or not, she's actually the only member of Jack's team who treated me nicely. Sometimes, she can be kind of scary and even sadistic, but she's a lot nicer than she looks. Most of the time."She shrugged.

"Well, that would explain why Jack nicknamed her Sadic,"I muttered, stroking my chin in thought.

"She's also a little obsessed with hunting,"Serenity remarked. She blushed slightly."And the really weird part is that hunting, well, turns her on, so she's told me."_That_ got us to stare at her with raised eyebrows, then look at the battling Weavile, who was dodging a thunderbolt attack, grinning fiercely.

"Well, Weavile are known to be near-perfect predators,"Psyche said."So, that must stem from her natural instincts. Even that last part, I'd say."

"It's still kinda weird,"Fang mumbled.

"Does she steal stuff like I do?"Zaps asked.

"Well, not as much as you do, if that's what you mean,"Serenity said."Though, sometimes she does steal bits of food from the others when they're not looking. But she's never stolen from me."She blinked once."At least, I don't _think_ she has..."Zaps looked down in thought.

"So, she's not as big a theif as her ancestor,"I remarked."Sounds like the apple fell pretty far from the tree."There was another moment of silence, broken by the sounds of battle on the field.

"Hey, boss?"Zaps asked.

"Yeah?"

"You mind if I go have some alone time to think?"he asked. I smiled at him.

"Sure, Zaps, take as long as you need,"I said. He nodded, standing up and walking out of the room as Frostaria knocked out Electrode. As Wattson returned the unconcious pokeball imposter, Zapperton and Frostaria looked at each other as he walked out. Then just like that, he was out of the room. The rest of the battle went by fast. Almost pathetically so. Jack's pokemon were strong, I'll give him that, but they were pretty damn merciless.

I glanced at Wes, seeing that he was glaring at Jack coldly. Even Rui seemed pretty angry with him. As for said jerk, after recalling an Arbok, he walked over to Wattson and yanked the badge out of his hand, then walked right out the door without another word, not even looking at anyone. There was a long silence that followed.

"Well,"I said loudly, trying to defuse the tension. We stood up and walked towards Wattson, who was shaking his head."I take it you want to wait 'til tomorrow to battle one of us?"

"I would appreciate that, boy,"he sighed."It's pretty sad to know there are trainers out there like him."

"Huh, just pray you never go to Orre,"Wes muttered."There are plenty of people like him out there. But a lot of 'em aren't nearly as bad as he is."

"Yeah, that's a nice thought,"I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Just come back tomorrow,"Wattson said."I'll be more than happy to battle you both."

"At the same time?"I wondered aloud. I could've sworn I saw Wes hide a grin.

Wattson quickly shook his head, chuckling."Oh, no, I don't think so. Brawly told me about his battle with you two. You thoroughly wiped the floor with him. I'm not making that mistake."I had to admit I was a little disappointed by that. Wes was a helluva battler, and it would've been cool to team up with him again. Heh, if only I had known what the future held for us both...

XXXX

We were now in our room inside the center. While everyone else was asleep, I was looking at Zaps as he paced back and forth. It was almost eleven thirty. Psyche and Wrath were in their pokeballs, Anubis and Serenity were in the bunk beds, and Fang and ZC were sleeping in different corners. We had spent most of the day wandering around the city before getting a room here at the Center. Fortunately for Zaps, Jack hadn't decided to leave the city. Fortunately for the rest of us, he and his team weren't sleeping in the center.

"Zaps, you need to calm down,"I told him calmly. He stopped and looked at me.

"Why?"

"Because if you don't, you'll probably pass out on the spot,"I said."Trust me, stress can do that and much, _much_ more. I know from experience."He looked down at his feet, sighing.

"You're right, boss, as always,"he muttered.

"Don't bother feeding my ego, Zaps. It's dead,"I remarked dryly, standing up."Shall we?"He nodded.

XXXX

"You're early,"Frostaria remarked as we walked up to her. She glanced at me with a raised eyebrow.

"So are you,"I replied. The Weavile blinked, looking at me with wide eyes."Yes, I can understand you. It's a really long story."She shrugged, looking back at Zaps. She held up her claw, showing us the Volt Ring. Now that I had a better look at it, (sort of, it _was_ midnight) I could see that the ring almost looked like a wedding ring. The ring itself was black with small, yellow lightning bolt designs criss-crossing on it. It also had a yellow jewel on it's top that I could swear was glowing faintly. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't night time.

I looked at Zaps, who was staring at the ring silently, a tense look in his eyes. We watched as the Weavile calmly plucked the ring off her claw. She then did something that stunned us both.

"Here ya go,"she said, tossing it to Zaps. He could barely react in time to catch it, fumbling with it for a moment. He stared at the ring like it was a gift from Arceus, then looked at Frostaria with an absolutely priceless expression. I probably would've laughed if I wasn't stunned, too.

"I-ga-duh..."Zaps failed to speak.

My thoughts exactly.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinkin',"Frostaria said."But listen to my little story. I didn't like my family at all. You know how most of us Weavile like to hunt? My family liked to steal crap. I was the only person in my family who actually preferred hunting. They just stole whatever they wanted while I spent all my life doing what I was meant to do. But, you know, family traditions and all that junk. I don't know why my great-great-whatever grandma stole your ring, but I just decided to give it back if I ever ran into you or your kin."I crossed my arms and tilted my head, looking at Zaps again, who still looked stunned.

Finally, he spoke."I don't believe it..."He looked at Frostaria."That's it? You're just...givin' it to me?"

"Well, if you were looking for a fight, sorry to disappoint you,"she said with a shrug."That thing's your birthright, isn't it? It doesn't work for me and my kind anyway, so you might as well have it."She smirked."But if you still want a challenge for that thing, I have a pretty good idea."We both blinked, looking at her with raised eyebrows."My specialty is hunting, and your specialty is sneaking around without being detected. Why don't we play a little game?"

"A game of Delcatty and Rattata?"I asked.

"That's right,"Frostaria said."I'll give you a one minute head start, then I'll start chasing you. If I find you before sunrise, I win. If I don't, you win. The only rules are that you can't leave the city and you can't go inside any buildings. Whaddaya say?"Zaps looked at me.

"You don't even have to ask,"I replied."Get going."To my surprise, Zaps actually smiled. Not grinned, not smirked, but _smiled_.

Then he ran off at top speed. I chuckled, then turned around to walk away, only for Frostaria to stop me in my tracks.

"I like him."

Yep, a pretty simple sentence, but it had a whole lot of meaning to it. I looked at her from over my shoulder to see her grinning.

"I see."And then I left.

XXXX

1:32 A.M.

Zaps was crouching on top of a building, keeping his senses on full alert for just the slightest distubance around him. Pachirisu in the tree across the street, Poocheyena in the alley-

There!

Zaps quickly leapt onto another building and dashed across it, hiding behind a large air duct, eyes narrowed. He looked down at the Volt Ring in his palm. He promised himself that he wouldn't put it on until sunrise, when he won this little game.

XXXX

2:56

Zaps was lying in a thicket of bushes near the pokemon center, his fur covered in mud to hide his scent. He didn't think Weavile used their noses for hunting that much, but he wasn't willing to take that chance. Plus, the yellow of his fur would have stood out against any backdrop in the city.

XXXX

4:03

There was less than 3 hours before sunrise. Frostaria had yet to catch that Electivire, even though she thought she had come close a few times. Still, she was having the most fun she'd had since Jack had caught her, and she wasn't about to give up. The Weavile's eyes peered through the city intently, trying to spot just the right amount of yellow...

XXXX

5:23

Just a bit longer, then Zaps was home-free. The mud in his fur had dried, but he knew he could just clean it later. He was pressed against a wall in an alley, just short of the light from a lamp post. He looked back and forth quickly, then went deeper into the alley, before climbing up a building yet again.

XXXX

6:36

Amazing. It was almost sunrise, but she still hadn't caught him. No prey had ever eluded her for more than two hours at most, but this guy had avoided her for almost six hours straight. All this hunting had actually aroused her, and by now she wasn't certain if she was simply going to catch him or make ou-

Hello!

She lunged from the lamp post she was standing on and into the alley Zaps was in.

"C'mere, you!"she shouted, running after the fleeing Electric pokemon. The chase was short, since the alley led to a dead end. Zaps turned around to face her, a calm expression on his face. She chuckled."Well, it looks I finally-"She paused and frowned, confused by the wide smile spreading on Zaps' face."What are you smiling at?"Wordlessly, he pointed into the sky behind her. Frostaria spun on her heel to see the sun slowly rising over the horizon. There was a silent pause as she turned to look at him again, seeing that he was holding the ring. He slowly fastened the ring on his left index finger, feeling a surge of energy go through him.

Against his will, he let loose a weak electrical nimbus that somehow blew the mud off his fur. The ring's glowing became a bit stronger, but did nothing else. There was another moment of silence as they looked at each other again.

"Now what?"Zaps asked, eyebrow raised. Frostaria smirked, walking over and looking up at him.

"That was _fun_,"she said. She motioned with a claw for Zaps to come closer. He crouched down curiously.

"What?"he asked. She moved her head right next to his, making sure to breathe into his ear.

"Let's do it again sometime,"she whispered suggestively. Zaps blinked, trying to fight down a blush as she turned and walked off, moving her hips back and forth, then she disappeared around the corner. He blinked again, then realized he was incredibly tired, his adrenaline spent. Nobody, pokemon or human, had _ever_ given him such a hard time staying out of sight. Rubbing his head, he began to walk back to the center sluggishly.

XXXX

"Manectric is unable to battle! The winner of this battle is Wes!"the Ref said as Wattson recalled said electric type.

"Damn straight!"Wes grinned, his Espeon mirroring him.

"Nice job, Wes,"I told him, standing up as Rui ran over to him, smiling widely. Wattson walked over to him and handed him the badge. Wes tossed it up once, then put it in his coat. I couldn't help but wonder how much stuff he actually had in that thing.

"Good job, both of you,"Wattson told us. Yeah, I had battled him before Wes, and won, so now we both had our badges."I'm glad to have battled you both. It more than made up for yesterday's battle."

"I hope so,"I said as Wes frowned slightly.

"If I ever get the chance to battle him, I'm going to annihilate him,"he swore.

"Well, leave some for me,"I replied, the two of us walking towards the exit."With his strength, I'm almost certain we'll run into him at the Hoenn League."And with my luck, I was certain I would run into him sooner than that. And more often, to boot.

"You got a point there,"Wes remarked as we exited the building. We turned to each other.

"See ya later, Wes,"I said, holding my hand out. He nodded and shook it, then turned away and walked off, Rui waving to us as she followed him. I looked at the team."Well, this has been an interesting week."

"No kidding,"Anubis chuckled.

"Shall we go find Zaps?"Psyche asked.

"No need,"a voice familiar voice said. We all turned our heads to see Zaps walking up to us slowly. He waved weakly."Hey, fellas."

"Damn, Zaps,"I said with a frown, noticing his condition."You okay? You look like you just ran a marathon around Mt. Coronet. With a bag of bricks."He chuckled.

"Yeah, but I still won, see?"he said, holding his left hand up and showing us the ring."Boss, could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"I won't like it, but do ya mind letting me in my ball?"he asked."I took a nap, but I still feel like I'm about to pass out, see?"He blinked once."Well, speak of the devil."He fell over with a thud. The rest of us looked amongst ourselves, eyebrows raised.

Don't worry. He got better.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Long chapter is long. Zaps finally has the Volt Ring back, and maybe even something else.


	21. Chapter 21

With the introduction of Pokemon Black and White, we get to meet the Legendaries of the Isshu region. Won't this be fun?

Chapter 21:Meeting the Isshu Relatives

I placed my hand on a familiar stone wall covered with Unown writing, then began chanting a phrase that was practically lodged in my brain. When I finished, the stone wall collapsed on itself, revealing a secret passage. I looked over my shoulder to the team.

"After you,"I said. They all walked or floated past me down the path, and I followed after them, waving a hand over my shoulder and causing the wall to reassemble itself. Neat trick, huh? Anyway, we walked for about a minute before arriving at the city, where we immediately greeted by Mew, who shot at Anubis and nearly knocked him off his feet as she kissed him on the lips.

When she pulled away a moment later, Anubis chuckled."What the heck happened to 'hello'?"

The psychic kittened grinned."It's overused."She hugged him again, much more gently this time."I've missed you."Anubis hugged her back.

"Feeling's mutual,"he said. I looked at the others, then motioned for them to follow, wanting to give the couple some privacy. We all began walking through the city, greeting the other legendaries as we passed by them. After a while, I sensed something. Someone was watching us, and they were getting anxious for a fight. I stopped and looked around, eyes narrowed.

"Something up, Ken?"Fang asked.

"...Get back, all of you,"I said lowly. They immediately did so, probably wondering what was wrong. We all got the answer when a very large shadow appeared over me. I looked up to see a GIGANTIC black, draconic creature standing on a large building, piercing red eyes gleaming and a scary looking grin on its face that belonged on a jack-o-lantern. The creature raised a claw crackling with electricity, then shot it down at me as a huge bolt."HOLY-!"I quickly dove forward and rolled out of the way, and the bolt struck the ground with a boom. The others shouted in alarm and backed away as the creature jumped down and landed where I had been standing, looking down at me."Who the hell are you?"I blinked. Now that I got a good look at him, he looked almost demonic."The operative word being 'hell', apparently..."

The creature chuckled."I like you already, Ken,"he said in a deep voice that almost sounded like thunder rumbling. He gave me that creepy grin again."I'm Zekrom, and I've been dying to see you."

"Okay..."I said, still feeling rather suspicious."So, what's your type? Are you an electric dragon that looks like a dark type, or a dark dragon that knows thunder?"

"He's an electric type,"a soothing, feminine voice responded. I turned around to see a dragon who was quite possibly Zekrom's opposite in every way. This dragon had brilliant white scales, relaxing blue eyes, and angellic wings."Hello. My name is Reshiram."She gave Zekrom an annoyed look."I thought I told you not to attack the boy, Zekrom."

"You did, but I just ignored you,"Zekrom replied casually. I noticed the others walk around him and over to me. I looked back at the angellic dragon, who looked down at me with an apolegetic look.

"Please forgive Zekrom,"she said kindly."Sometimes, he can be rather...exciteable at the thought of a new possible opponent."

"Sometimes? The guy's trigger finger is on caffeine!"a new, much smaller voice said with a laugh. We all turned to see a small creature with cream colored fur, blue eyes, and big red ears in the shape of a V sitting on the edge of another building's roof, grinning cheerfully. The little rabbit creature hopped down and ran up to me, jumping on my shoulder."Hiya! I'm Victini! Nice to meet ya!"The little guy held his claws up in a V sign."What's up?"

"Uhh, not much,"I said, wondering why we had never seen these three before, so I decided to voice my question.

"Oh, it's not just them,"another new, wise voice said from above. We all looked up to see yet another dragon who was smaller than the last two. His body shape was somewhat similar to the Latis, but he had grey and light blue scales that looked almost metallic."Hello, young man. I am Kyurem. A pleasure to meet you and your team."I tilted my head.

"Anyone else we should know about?"I asked.

"As a matter a fact, yes, quite a few,"Kyurem said, then nodded at Zekrom.

The dragon took a deep breath, then roared out "GET OVER HERE! WE'VE FOUND THEM!" loud enough to give us headaches. After a moment, other pokemon started appearing that we had never seen before. There were two trios, one was a trio of quadrapeds, and the other looked like, well, genies honestly. The only difference between them were their coloring and their 'hair.' Another one was a green feminine creature that, oddly enough, had hair that looked like a musical score. Another was a small horse pokemon with a light blue tail and mane, a long crescent on its forehead, and bushy red hair with a horn sticking out in the middle. Finally, there was a purple pokemon who honestly looked pretty damn cool. It looked like a bug out of 'Morphers,' a series about robotic pokemon who could turn into vehicles.

"Um, wow,"Zaps mumbled, he and the rest of us looking around with wide eyes, then I noticed Anubis and Mew running up to us.

"Whoa,"Anubis muttered, looking at the new Legendaries with wide eyes. Mew and Victini smiled at each other.

"Hey, Mew!"Victini said, holding up his claws."Give me three!"Grinning herself, Mew floated over to him and gave him a high-er, three, I guess.

"Victini! How long has it been, buddy?"she asked.

"'Bout a year, I think, but who's countin'?"Victini shrugged, still smiling.

"Okay, this is going to take a LOT of introductions,"I remarked with a chuckle. I looked at the robotic bug pokemon."How about you first?"The creature walked up to us, its legs making whirring sounds as he moved them.

"Greetings. My designation is Genosect, the Paleozoic pokemon,"it said, its deep voice accompanied by a high-pitched, electronic whine."I am 1.5 meters tall, I weigh 82.5 kilograms, and my level is approximately 64. My types are Bug and Steel. My ability is Download, accompanied by the moves Bug Buzz, Thunderbolt, Shadow Claw, and my signature move, Techno Buster. My current hold item is the Water Cassette, which transforms my Techno Buster attack into a water type move."

"...Ooookay,"I said slowly."My name is-"

Its eyes flashed."Your designation is Ken Woods."I knew it was going to interrupt me."You are 6.2 feet tall and weigh 135 pounds, only 26% of which is body fat."

"How the hell did you know that?"

"I am not done,"it said."You are 19 years old, were born and raised in Twinleaf Town, and have an IQ of 203. Your abilities include the power to speak to pokemon, a great singing voice, and an incomplete mastery of the elements."

"Incomplete?"I parroted."By how much?"

"53%,"it said.

"...Damn,"I said. I was already pretty powerful, I knew, but according to this guy, I was THAT far from my full potential? Jeez...

"Weaknesses include a rarely seen but extremely volatile temper, light sensitivity, and an allergy to fish,"Genosect finished calmly. I said nothing, not knowing what to say.

"OOOH! Do me! Do me!"I heard Zephyr shout excitedly.

"Maybe later,"I mumbled before the strange robot could speak.

"AWWWW!"

"Don't mind it, dears, ignore what you hear!"sang the green pokemon with a musical score for hair."Genosect isn't known for sugarcoating its words, its basically the nerd to end all nerds."She giggled.

"Now there's an understatement if I ever heard one,"Victini chuckled. Genosect glared at them both.

"I'm Meloetta,"she continued."You can probably tell, but I am the Melody pokemon! My specialty and passion is muuuusiiic! And if you have a great singing voice like Genosect claims, then I just might end up giving you more than my name."She winked and giggled again.

I blinked."Wait, what?"Suddenly, I sensed a surge of emotion from Serenity. Was that...jealousy?

"She reeeeaaaally likes music, buddy,"the small horse remarked."It's just her thing. Anyway, name's Kerudio, and I wouldn't mind seeing what kind of power you guys got. Whaddaya say we do some sparring right now?"

"I don't think so,"I said slowly.

"Aw, c'mon!"he whined."I bet I could take one of you on!"

"Kerudio, shush,"a tall, green deer said gently. Kerudio 'hmphed' and looked away, grumbling to himself. Abruptly, the three genies floated in a triangle around us, arms crossed.

"Landios of Fertility,"the red one said.

"Tornelos of Whirlwind,"the green one said.

"And Voltolos of Lightning,"the blue one said.

They bowed in unison and said "A pleasure to meet you all."

"...K,"Fang said awkwardly as they floated away.

"Yeah, they're just...old fashion,"a large gray bull pokemon said, shrugging."Anyhow, I'm Terrakion."

"My name is Virizion,"the green deer from before said sweetly.

"And I am Cobalon,"a blue horse pokemon said proudly. I nodded, looking around.

"Well, alright then, I guess it's our turn,"I remarked calmly, glancing at the others."You all probably know who I am, so..."I looked at my old Lucario friend.

"My name's Anubis,"he said, holding up a paw."I'm sort of, uhh, second-in-command, I guess."

"Are you and Mew really mates?"Victini asked him right off the bat. I blinked, then looked at Anubis to see a somewhat shocked expression on his face.

"Jeez! A little blunt, don't you think?"he asked incredulously, eyebrow raised as Mew actually giggled, sitting on his shoulder and leaning against his head.

"Does this answer your question?"she asked, then kissed Anubis on the cheek.

"Yep,"Victini grinned."It's about time you found somebody!"

I cleared my throat, trying to get us back on track."If we can continue?"I glanced at Zapperton, who nodded and raised a hand.

"The name's Zapperton, see?"he said."Call me Zaps. I'm the Spark Thief. I'm the team's...financial expert."He chuckled. Zekrom actually seemed interested in him.

"So, you're the descendant of the first Zapperton Thunderos?"he asked. The Electivire looked at him curiously.

"Yeah."

"Would you believe I've met your ancestor before?"Zekrom asked, causing the Electivire's jaw to drop.

"Seriously?"

"Yep. You remind me of him, come to think of it,"Zekrom remarked."Except he was a bit taller. I think."

"You can talk about that another time,"I said calmly, looking at Fang.

"My turn? Sweet. I'm Fang,"the Gliscor said, folding his wings around himself."I'm the team's eye in the sky.

"Dude, you're freakin' huge for a Gliscor, you know that?"Kerudio asked.

"So I'm told,"Fang deadpanned. Yeah, he wasn't ashamed of his size, but it always annoyed him that people constantly pointed it out.

"Sorry,"Kerudio said Mareepishly.

"Anyhow, I am COREM,"COREM said."It stands for Core OverRide-"

"IMMA ZEPHYR! HI!"Zephyr interrupted cheerfully, raising a number of eyebrows.

"Zephyr, I told you before that it is rude to interrupt people when they are talking,"COREM said, irritated.

"...You did?"

"Ugh."

Genosect's eyes flashed again."Interesting. I detect two seperate and sentient minds within that Porygon-Z. I now recall being told of some progamming error."

"Correct. Our creator accidentally downloaded us into the same physical body by mistake when the Chrome Syndicate raided his lab,"COREM said.

"Yeah, and then they locked us up in a big stupid computer because they thought I was crazy and annoying!"Zephyr said, actually sounding offended."Stupid-heads!"

"Zephyr, you _are_ crazy and annoying,"Anubis groaned, a paw on his forehead.

"What does that have to do with anything?"Zephyr asked, proving his point.

"Moving right along,"Psyche said pointedly."My name is Psyche. I suppose I'm the brains of the operation. I am 24 and I hail from Kanto."Well, _that_ was news.

"You're older than me?"I asked."You never told us that."

The psychic shrugged."You never asked. And aside from that, did it really matter?"

"Good point,"I admitted.

"I have a question,"Cobalon said."Which of you is the more intellingent? I'm not trying to insult either of you. I'm merely curious."At that, Psyche and I glanced at each other.

"We...don't know,"I replied, shrugging."I mean, I know plenty of things Psyche doesn't, and he knows a lot that I don't, so..."I shrugged again.

"We never gave it much thought,"Psyche finished lamely.

Before anything else could be said, a familiar voice roared out "HEY ZEKROM!", then Palkia flew towards us and grabbed the black dragon in a headlock, giving him a noogie as he grinned."It's been WAY too long since I've seen you!"Smirking, Zekrom reached up and grabbed Palkia, then flung him forward, forcing many of us to scatter as the space dragon was smashed into the ground.

"Watch it! You nearly flattened us!"I shouted angrily as Palkia stood up, still grinning like an idiot. I noticed a few Unown starting to converge around us. Hoo, boy...

"If you two are going to start rough-housing, will you at least go somewhere else?"Reshiram asked warily, though I noticed she was giving Palkia a strange look. The pearl dragon glanced over his shoulder and smirked.

"Good to see you, too,"he said sarcastically.

"Seriously, Palkia. If you two are going to start messing around, get outta here so we don't have to deal with it,"I said flatly. I looked at the Unown."That goes for you, too!"

Palkia rolled his eyes."Fine. C'mon, Zekrom. We got some catching up to do."

"What was that all about?"Anubis asked once they had left, the Unown chasing after them.

"They're best friends,"Kyurem said."Have been since Arceus created us all."

"Just like Reshiram's had a crush on Palkia ever since He created us,"Victini chuckled deviously. The white dragon blushed.

"I-I do not!"she stuttered as Victini cackled.

"_Suuuuure_ ya don't,"he smirked."The fact that you're always givin' him a googly-eyed look doesn't mean a thing."He then mimicked the look she had given Palkia earlier, causing many of us, including myself, to snicker while she blushed redder.

"Alright, that's enough,"Kyurem chuckled, looking at me."There are still two more members of your team we've yet to be introduced to."I blinked, glancing at Wrath and Serenity.

"More like 109 of them,"I said. The Spiritomb smirked at my remark.

"We are Wrath,"they said."We are a legion of falsely accused spirits. We travel with Ken in hopes of finding the ones who led us to our imprisonment and have our vengeance against them all."

"Cool!"Victini said. Wrath stared at him."What? Sure, it's terrible what happened to ya, but you're a combined legion of spirits on a quest for vengeance who joined a group of heroes trying to save the world! That's just awesome!"Wrath rolled their eyes.

"Riiiight,"they muttered.

"One more to go,"I said, looking at Serenity, who cleared her throat somewhat nervously.

"My name's Serenity,"she said quietly.

"Dear, please don't take offense to this, but...did you really used to be a Shadow pokemon?"Virizion asked gently. I narrowed my eyes. Did she have to bring that up?

Serenity looked down at the ground, then nodded slightly."I don't like to talk about it..."

"Okay, that's everyone,"I said loudly."Let's get on to our meeting, shall we?"Getting my drift, the Legendaries all dispersed, heading towards the meeting tower. I sighed, looking at Serenity."You alright?"

She nodded again, smiling at me."Thank you, Ken."I nodded back, then looked forward again.

"I'll see you guys there,"I said, lifting off the ground."I'm going for quick flight before the meeting starts."With that said, I took off into the air.

XXXX

"Well, let's get movin'. Don't wanna be late,"Anubis said, he and the others heading towards the tower. After a moment of hesitation, I followed, still thinking about that one pokemon.

(And if you have a great singing voice like Genosect claims, then I just might end up giving you more than my name...)

It was obvious that she had been flirting with Ken, but why did I feel...jealous? The only reason I would feel that way was if...

No. No, no, _no_! I've said it before, there's absolutely no way I could feel that way about him! He's a human and I'm a pokemon!

So...why did a part of me think that didn't matter? Ugh! This is so confusing! Maybe I should ask Arceus about this. Yes, He'll know what to do. How could He not?

XXXX

I ran across another roof, then jumped off the edge and started flying through the alleys of the hidden city. Approaching a wall, I spun through the air to let my feet to smack against it, then I flew down another alley. This is why I loved my powers. This was freedom like no other human could experience. By now, flying like this felt like second nature to me. Heck, sometimes I liked to pretend that I'm running fast enough to move along the walls. Don't judge me.

As I flew, I couldn't help but think about what happened. Why had Serenity felt jealous when Meloetta had flirted with me? Did she think Meloetta was trying to take her place on the team or something? No, she wasn't paranoid like that. So, what was it? I sighed and shook my head. There were some things even I could never figure out.

But enough about that. It was almost time for the meeting to start, so I began flying towards the tower.

XXXX

"It appears that everyone has arrived,"Arceus said as Ken flew up and landed near his team.

"Sorry. I took a bigger detour than I thought,"he apologized, smoothing down his frayed hair and pulling up his goggles.

"That's alright,"Arceus said, looking through the Legendaries."First off, I would like to welcome back our friends from Isshu and congratulate them on a job well done."The Legendaries cheered for their Isshu relatives, effectively confusing Ken and his team.

"Uhh, you kind of left us out of the loop here,"Ken chuckled.

"Ah, yes, that's right,"Arceus said."You see, they have recently defeated the Chrome Syndicate branch in Isshu. They've been so busy with the problem there that they've been unable to make contact with us in recent times."

"Yeah, we didn't even know you guys had shown up until today,"Victini remarked.

"The last time we were here was about three months before Mesprit found you,"Reshiram said.

"We've been fighting that damn Chrome Syndicate ever since,"Zekrom remarked."But we've finally managed to exterminate the last of their bases in our region."

"Well, that's one less branch to worry about, then,"Ken said, arms crossed."But it also means they can focus more funds and manpower on the other regions now. Joy..."

"Hey, it's no problem,"Kerudio said.

"Yeah, you guys will have an easier time of it with us around!"Victini said, grinning.

"There's also one other thing,"Arceus said, looking at the beast of the North Wind."Suicune."

The water beast perked up."Yes?"

"Would you care to introduce us to your new friend?"he asked. At that, everyone looked at the Aurora pokemon curiously.

She chuckled."Nothing gets past you, does it?"She looked at her shadow."Shadow. Please come out here."

"Uhh, Suicune, your shadow can't-"Raikou started, then everyone's jaws dropped as a Zoroark wearing an ornate, disc-shaped straw hat rose out of Suicune's shadow in a kneeling position, head bowed. For some reason, he had a nasty-looking crescent shaped scar over his left eye.

"Yes, mistress?"he asked, then noticed everyone staring at him with wide eyes. He blinked at them."..."

"Everyone, this is Shadow,"Suicune said."He's my...err..."She looked at the dark type."What was it again?"

"Vassal, mistress,"Shadow replied. Suicune nodded.

"Yes, thank you,"she said.

"A vassal?"Ken asked, eyebrow raised."As in, a ninja vassal?"

"That's right,"Suicune said, nodding again.

"A ninja?"Jirachi asked as Zephyr screeched with excitement.

"That is so cool!"Mew shouted ecstatically, she, Zephyr, and Jirachi quickly flying to them.

"So, what school do you use?"Jirachi asked.

"Iga?"Mew asked.

"Fuuma?"Zephyr asked.

"Wind?"

"Hidden Leaf?"

"Crouching Luxray, Hidden Dragonite?"They continued to pester the utterly baffled dark type, who didn't know how to react to their questions.

"What clan are you from?"Mew asked.

"Why are you Suicune's vassal?"Jirachi asked.

"What happened to your eye?"Zephyr asked. He gasped."Ooh! Is it a scar from a great battle with another evil ninja who murdered your family or something?"Shadow's eyes widened and jaw dropped. How the hell did he know that?

Mewtwo teleported over to them as COREM took control."Both of you, quiet."the psychic clone said, addressing Mew and Jirachi.

"You too, Zephyr,"COREM said.

"K,"the three said, shutting up and floating back over to where they had been. Mewtwo turned to Shadow."I apologize for that. They can be very excitable."The Zoroark just stared as he teleported back to his own spot.

"So, you have a servant now?"Ho-oh asked, getting them back on track."When did this happen? And why have you not told me?"

"I'm sorry, Ho-oh,"Suicune apologized."It happened just two days ago, so I simply figured I would tell you today."

The phoenix nodded."Fair enough. I understand."

"What exactly happened, Suicune?"Entei asked.

"Well, like I said, it happened two days ago,"Suicune started."I was drinking from a spring when I was ambushed by a group of the usual big headed humans hoping to make some money from catching a Legendary."

(Flashback)

Suicune cried out as she was blasted by three thunderbolt attacks. Dazed from the shocks, she was unable to dodge a surprisingly strong net thrown at her.

'Oh, great,'she thought to herself, she seeing three Raichus standing in front of three grinning humans.'How did I not hear them? I guess I let my guard down. I should know better than that by now..."

"Good going, Raichu!"the middle human said with a cocky grin.

"We're gonna make a fortune!"another human said.

"Let's get outta here before someone shows up,"the last human said.

As it would turn out, it was already too late. A black and red blur leapt from the surrounding trees and landed in front of Suicune, who paused in her struggling to stare at the new figure, realizing it was a Zoroark wearing a straw hat. The Monster Fox looked at her from over his shoulder, allowing her to see a crescent shaped scar over his left eye. He looked back at the now confused humans and their Raichus, whose cheeks were sparking as they glared at him. Rolling his eyes, the Zoroark disappeared, much to everyone's shock. Before anyone could even blink, the three electric pokemon fell to the ground, unconcious, then the Zoroark reappeared in front of the three humans, arms crossed and foot tapping expectantly, just waiting for them make a move.

And ever so stupidly, they did, releasing three more pokemon each:A Machoke, a Houdoom, a Sandslash, a Scyther, an Umbreon, a Magneton, a Monferno, a Haunter, and an Absol. The Zoroark raised an eyebrow. He could probably take them on alone, but where would the fun in that be?

Suddenly, the dark type backflipped away from them and landed in front of Suicune again. Without warning, he suddenly spun on his heel and lashed out with his claws. Suicune flinched on reflex, but was surprised to see that he sliced the net to bits without even grazing her. She stood up and stretched as the humans and their pokemon gawked in disbelief. Suicune looked at the dark type with a raised eyebrow. He stepped out of her way and motioned towards the opposing pokemon as if to ask "Shall we?" The Northern Wind smirked. She was starting to like this fox.

The two turned towards their opponents, who braced themselves for a fight while Suicune prepared to pounce and the Zoroark crouched over, eyes narrowed. Suicune was the first to attack, firing an aurora beam that forced them to scatter while the Zoroark jumped up and disappeared. As they tried to compose themselves, the Zoroark reappeared in front of the Houndoom in midair, arms crossed just to show off a little, then spun vertically and slammed his heel into the dark dog's head, knocking it out and disappearing again. The Scyther flew at Suicune, blade reared back to give her the worst hair cut of her life, but she wasn't about to let that happen. She bit down on the Scyther's namesake with an Ice Fang, then threw the mantis away.

She quickly jumped to the side to avoid a Confuse Ray and Zap Cannon from the Umbreon and Magneton respectively. Before she could retaliate, the Zoroark reappeared and breathed a powerful flamethower that knocked out the Magnet pokemon and forced the Umbreon to back off. Suicune frowned at the small fire the Zoroark had started with his attack, however, she was struck with an idea. Turning her head to the spring, she took control of the water and made it surge up in a surf attack that rushed towards the battlefield. The opposing pokemon and the humans all froze and stared at the incoming miniature tidal wave with priceless expressions, then the wall of water crashed into them all, the Zoroark watching from the treetops as they were thrown in every direction. Standing calmly in the middle of it, Suicune used her powers to put the water back in place, leaving her opponents knocked out and, pardon the pun, all washed up.

The Monster Fox calmly leapt back down and landed as Suicune shook herself of any remaining droplets in her fur. She looked at the Zoroark, who was looking through their knocked out foes for anyone who might have been feigning unconciousness. When he was certain there wasn't, he looked at her for a moment, then knelt down and bowed his head, taking off his hat.

Suicune tilted her head, strolling over to him."What is your name?"

"I am Shadow,"he said simply.

"Do you know who I am?"she asked.

"Yes, you are the Legendary pokemon Suicune, known as the Northern Wind,"the dark type replied, head still bowed.

"Hmm,"Suicune hummed."You have already told me quite a bit about yourself, you know."

"I beg your pardon?"Shadow asked, glancing up.

"You gave yourself a very simple introduction, while you refered to me by my name, status, and title,"Suicune remarked."That tells me that while you think next to nothing about yourself, you know a great deal about respect for those you deem above you. That is usually the attitude of a loyal soldier or warrior, and judging by the way you fought, I'm led to believe that you may be...a ninja?"

"That is correct,"Shadow said, rather impressed.

"So, why did you help me?"Suicune asked."I doubt your master told you to find and watch over me, otherwise you would have most likely disappeared by now."

"I was simply travelling when I came across this place,"Shadow said."I was going to wait for you to be finished here before I took a drink, but once they appeared..."He glanced at their ko'd opponents."...I refused to stay hidden. You are one of the great beings who keep our world from falling apart at the seams, but those fools seemed to be negligent of that fact. I could not allow them to take you."

"And what of your master?"Suicune asked.

It was the first time Shadow hesitated."...I don't have one. Not anymore."

Suicune's expression and tone softened."I see. Forgive me for bringing up what must be a painful memory."

"It is alright,"Shadow said."Such sentiments only cloud one's judgement. I have learned not to let them overtake me."

"So, if you don't mind my asking, where do you intend on going?"Suicune asked, getting an idea.

"I am trying to find someone,"Shadow said, a tone of bitterness penetrating his voice."And when I find the one I'm looking for, I will kill him, for he deserves nothing more."

"...The one who killed your master?"Suicune asked. Shadow nodded, gnashing his fangs.

"As well as my entire family,"he said with the slightest growl.

"I take it he also gave you that scar?"Suicune asked. Shadow nodded again.

"He gave me this as a warning not to search for him, or he would kill me,"Shadow said. He laughed bitterly."The fool. Whenever I feel I may simply give up my search, I look at my reflection and see this scar. It reminds me of why I'm searching for him, and why he must die. It gave me a reason to live, and I will never stop looking for him."The water beast was silent as she thought through this new information. Finally, she came to a decision.

"Shadow?"she asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you want a new master?"

Shadow looked up in shock."I beg your pardon?"

"Do you want a new master?"Suicune repeated calmly. The Zoroark stared.

(End flashback)

"Needless to say, Shadow accepted,"Suicune finished her tale."After that, he explained the nature of our new relationship. Shadow, would you care to explain?"

"Yes, mistress,"Shadow said, standing up."As Suicune's vassal, it is my duty protect her from any and all threats to her life by any means necessary. I am to obey her every order without question."

Raikou chuckled lewdly."Does that mean if she wanted get in bed with you, all she'd have to do was..."

"If I asked you to kill Raikou, would you do it?"Suicune interrupted suddenly.

Shadow nodded."If that is your wish, mistress,"he said, casually glancing at the beast of thunder, who noticeably paled.

Suicune smirked while everyone else snickered."No, I don't think that will be necessary. For now, anyway."

"Very well,"Shadow said."As I was saying, in return for my services, she is to provide me with food and shelter, though the latter is a moot point since I can rest in her shadow whenever she allows it."He shrugged."That's it for the most part, unless you wish for me to explain more, mistress."

"No, that will do,"Suicune said."Thank you, Shadow."

"Is there be anything else you wish for, mistress?"he asked.

"No, but you can stay out here if you want,"Suicune said.

Shadow nodded."Thank you, mistress."He knelt back down. As the Legendaries began conversing again, he took a good look at the human and his team across the room. For whatever reason, the Lucario holding Mew in his arms caught the ninja's eye.

"Getting back on track, there will no missions you today,"Arceus said to Ken's team.

"Awwww,"Anubis, Zaps, Fang, and Zephyr all whined. Everyone else rolled their eyes.

"Don't worry, Anubis,"Mew said with a mischievious giggle."We can still have some fun together..."She looked up at him and winked, then many others blanched.

"Do you have to flirt so bluntly with all of us in earshot?"Ken asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes. Yes, I do,"Mew giggled again while Anubis chuckled and everyone else rolled their eyes again.

"Anyway, all I want is for everyone to get caught up and relax for today,"Arceus finished."You are all dismissed."With that said, the Legendaries, and the team, dispersed into their own groups, conversing about plans for the day as they exited the building.

"You guys go on,"Serenity said to the others."I need to speak with Arceus for a bit."

"Alright, see ya,"Ken said as he and everyone else left. When they were gone, Serenity turned and looked up at the Alpha pokemon, who smiled down at her kindly. Her legs shook a bit as she took a few steps forward.

"Sir, may I ask you something?"she asked."It's very important. At least, it is to me."

"I already know, Serenity,"Arceus replied."You are starting to feel mixed emotions about Ken, correct?"The Kirlia wasn't entirely surprised that He knew, so she simply nodded. He chuckled."You're feeling confused about your feelings for him because you both are two different species."

"Yes, sir,"Serenity said quietly, her gaze downcast."I think...I think I might...love him. But even if I did, it would never work, would it?"

"Far stranger things have happened in the world, Serenity,"Arceus said."And for the record, it is not against human law for a human to be wed to a pokemon."

Serenity's head snapped up, a look of hope in her eyes."It's not?"she asked incredulously.

"No, but it is a rare event,"Arceus said."Most humans frown upon the concept, though, believing it to be wrong simply because we are a different species from themselves. But do not let that deter you. You will be able to sort out your emotions eventually. After all, you are the Emotion pokemon."Serenity smiled.

"Thank you, Arceus,"she said.

"You're very welcome,"Arceus smiled back.

XXXX

End of chapter

Wow. This chapter was a lot longer than I intended to make it. Oh, well.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:Truth vs. Lies

"Mistress, may I ask you something?"Shadow asked Suicune. The two were sitting at the edge of the city's lake. Suicune was relaxing while Shadow was kneeling beside her.

"Certainly, what is it?"Suicune asked, head turned to face him.

"Do you know about the Lucario that Mew seemed to like?"he asked.

"Well, she doesn't just like him, Shadow,"Suicune said."They're lovers. The Lucario's name is Anubis. He is the first pokemon and oldest friend of the human you saw that I told you about yesterday. Apparently, Ken found him alone in the woods, brought him home, and took care of him. The two have been best friends ever since. He's also possibly the strongest member of Ken's team aside from Ken himself."

"Interesting,"Shadow murmured."How did he and Mew come to fall in love?"

"It was a gradual occurance,"Suicune said."They hit it off very nicely when Anubis was still a Riolu. Like Mew, he was rather mischievious back then, he still is at times."A wistful smile crossed her face."Anyway, they learned more and more about each other and eventually fell in love."

"And...he is the strongest of the team aside from the human?"Shadow questioned. Suicune gave him an interested look.

"Possibly, why?"she asked."Do you want to battle him?"

"I would like to test his fighting skill,"Shadow admitted."Something about him...intrigues me."

"Well, if you're going to do that, you'll want to find him quickly,"Suicune said.

"Hmm?"

"Most times we have these meetings, Mew whisks him off to some place so they can, well, make love,"she said."Where they go, only Arceus knows."

"...But...how do they...?"Shadow trailed off.

"It's something we try not to think about,"Suicune replied dryly, standing up and stretching."Let's see if we can find him, shall we?"Nodding, Shadow followed after his new master as she dashed off. It wasn't long before they managed to find the couple in an empty street, who were just about to teleport away."Mew, Anubis, may we speak with you?"

"We're kind of busy,"Mew said, more than a little annoyed that they were being delayed from their fun.

"What is it?"Anubis asked, feeling the same as his mate. Suicune motioned to her vassal.

"Shadow here would like to have a sparring match with you, Anubis,"she said. Anubis blinked as the Zoroark stepped forward.

"Well, sure, I'd love to,"Anubis said, glancing at Mew."I mean, if you're okay with it."

She sighed."Oh, alright. Just be quick about it, okay? You know I don't like waiting."As she floated past him, she rubbed her tail under his muzzle, gently flicking his nose. Trying not to grin like a dope, he stood in a fighting position, paws burning with aura. Shadow crouched slightly, one arm behind his back and one pointed towards his opponent.

"How do you wanna do this?"Anubis asked."Long range? Paw-to-claw?"

"The former,"Shadow replied calmly as Suicune jumped onto a building to watch from a safe distance next to Mew."No special attacks. Nothing but our natural skill. Got it?"

"Got it,"Anubis grinned. The two lunged forward.

XXXX

Meanwhile...

"GET DOWN!"Ken shouted as he stomped Darkria's character off the stage, sending him through the bottom barrier and taking another one of his lives. The teen smirked."Oh, how I love spiking people to oblivion."

The nightmare pokemon grimaced."Damn, I could _feel_ that one..."he muttered.

"Sorry to say this, Darkria, but Ken just _owned_ you,"Latios remarked as he jumped to avoid Victini's Rollout Dash.

"No kidding!"Victini remarked, grabbing Latios, hitting him a few times, and throwing him backwards."It's been a while since I've seen a stomp that clean! But don't get too cocky, you only got two lives left. Whoop!"He quickly rolled to avoid a powerful punch attack from Ken's character.

The four of them were crowded on a couch in the entertainment room, as they usually were, playing a game called Ultra Crash Brethren Brawl, the Legendaries being in their human forms, since most of them didn't have opposable thumbs in their real forms. Ken was Captain Staraptor, Darkria was Utrom Knight, Latios was Ekans, and Victini was Sonic the Sandslash. The four were playing on Last Arrival with only one item, the Crash Sphere. Watching them, or rather, waiting for their turn, were Zekrom, Azelf, and even Celebi. The one's who were actually watching were Cresselia, Reshiram, Deoxys, Latias, and Palkia.

Suddenly, the screen flashed, and the most powerful item in the game appeared.

"Crash Sphere! Chrash Sphere!"Latios said eagerly, the four dropping their fights and running to the floating item.

"Mine mine mine mine mine mine!"Victini shouted repeatedly. Thanks to his character's speed, he was able to easily reach it first, but Ken got in his way.

"Like hell it is!"he said, using a midair attack, a knee thrust, to send the ground type flying in the other direction, body sparking with electricity.

"How can a Sandslash be hurt by an electric attack?"Reshiram wondered as Darkria slashed the ball with his sword.

"Never question video game logic,"Celebi remarked sagely, Azelf nodding in agreement.

"You'll just get a headache,"he conceded.

"Hey, Victini. If you still want a mine, you can have this one,"Latios grinned, detonating the mine he had placed on Victini earlier. Since the other three players were already close together and near the Sphere, two things happened:One, it sent them flying in different directions, killing Ken in the process; two:it destroyed the Sphere and gave Latios access to his Ultimate Crash.

The three blinked as Latios paused the game, roaring with laughter and nearly falling off the couch, much of the audience laughing with him.

"Damn!"Ken said, feeling rather impressed.

"Good play..."Darkria mumbled as Victini himself actually laughed.

"Okay, I know I was the victim there, but that was hilarious,"he chuckled hysterically.

"We have _got_ to save that replay,"Latios remarked, slowly recovering from his laughing fit.

"Well, let's finish this first,"Ken replied, and Latios unpaused the game.

"It's showtime,"he said, activating his Ultimate Crash.

And so, 30 seconds of pure pwnage later, Ken was eliminated from the game, while Darkria and Victini were left at rather high damage on their last lives.

"Dead last,"the teen remarked, standing up."Story of my old life right there. Ah, well, I'm gonna head out to see what the team's doin'. Tell me who wins, okay?"

"Uhhh, like that's not obvious?"Victini asked, eyes still on the screen. He held a hand up."Victory pokemon, right here!"

"Says the guy who got tagged with a mine without even noticing?"Latios smirked. The fire type sulked, shrinking into himself embarrassedly. Chuckling, Ken walked out of the room.

XXXX

Anubis, eyes closed, quickly ducked to avoid a kick to the head from behind, then his paws shot up to catch Shadow's leg. He spun around once, then hurled the Monster Fox through the air, but he quickly disappeared again. The Lucario stepped back, looking around with aura sight.

"I could've sworn you said we're only suppose to use our natural skill,"he remarked, then rolled forward to avoid a claw swipe from the side. He threw himself to his feet and looked at the Zoroark with his normal sight."That ninja vanish trick is getting really old really fast."

Shadow shrugged."My vanish technique is as natural to me as your aura powers are to you. We both have our own advantages."He stood in his fighting stance again."Now then, shall we continue?"A battle cry was his response as Anubis charged forward.

Up on the roof, Mew and Suicune watched with interest as the two continued to counter and evade each other's blows.

"Well, isn't that interesting?"a familiar voice asked from behind them. They looked back to see Ken land behind them, walking to the edge of the roof to look down at the two fighters.

"Hey, Ken,"Mew said."How'd your game with the others go?"

"I lost, which is why I'm here,"Ken said calmly, glancing at Suicune."Looks like your newest friend and my oldest friend are starting to become friends!"He said cheerfully.

Suicune chuckled."Yes. It looks like the start of an interesting rivalry."

"Well, yeah, this is cool and all, but I really hope they get down soon,"Mew complained.

"Gee, I wonder why,"Ken said sarcastically, sitting down crossed-legged. Mew stuck her tongue out at him. They looked back at the field to see Anubis landing a punch to Shadow's gut, throwing him back, but only after receiving a slash to the chest. The Zoroark spun backwards and landed lightly on his feet. The two couldn't help but smirk at each other.

"Care to up the ante?"Anubis asked, feeling rather excited by the battle.

"Very well,"Shadow nodded. He prepared a Night Burst as Anubis readied an Aura Sphere.

"I just realized something interesting,"Ken remarked as they fired their attacks, creating an blue and black explosion of energy.

"What is it?"Suicune asked curiously as the explosion died down, only to show that Shadow had disappeared. Anubis slammed his eyes shut and looked for the dark type with aura sight.

"Zoroark and ninjas both use illusions and trickery to defeat their enemies,"Ken said as Anubis fired a Flash Cannon at the ground, throwing himself into the air."Which basically makes Shadow a double threat in that regard. But Lucarios are capable of using Aura to see through deceptions, and damn near everything else to boot. See where I'm going with this?"

"Ah, I understand,"Suicune said, eyes wide in realization while Shadow reappeared and breathed a flamethrower at Anubis, who spun around it and retaliated with his own fire type attack, a powerful Blaze Kick. Shadow managed to knock his leg away in time, ignoring the flames licking at his claws and arm."It's a battle of truth vs. deception."

"Cool!"Mew smiled widely. Shadow disappeared as Anubis fell back to the ground. The Monster Fox reappeared a few yards in front of him. The two looked at each other for only a fraction of a second before they charged forward, arms reared back. As soon as they were in striking range, they swung their arms forward, only to freeze just before landing their attacks, with Anubis' fist just inches away from Shadow's muzzle and the ninja's claws barely pricking at the Lucario's snout. The two stared at each other for a long moment.

"Tie?"Anubis asked, eyebrow raised.

"Draw,"Shadow agreed. Mew cheered and Ken clapped as they pulled away from each and bowed respectfully. The psychic kitten swiftly flew down and practically tackled her lover, who grunted in surprise.

"How many times are you gonna knock the air out of me today?"he asked as Shadow disappeared.

Mew smiled mischieviously."Would you like to find out?"

"Anytime,"Anubis smirked as Shadow reappeared near Suicune.

"That was an excellent battle, Shadow,"she said. He bowed his head.

"Thank you, mistress,"he said."I had...fun."Ken jumped down to greet his old friend, who grinned at him.

"That was pretty intense,"he remarked."It's been awhile since I've seen you fight that hard."

Before Anubis could reply, Mew quickly interrupted."Yeah, it was really cool. See ya later, Ken."Before anything else could be said, she teleported them both away. Ken chuckled shaking his head and looking up at Suicune and Shadow, who both leapt down.

"We're heading out now, Ken,"Suicune said."It was good seeing you again."

"Same to you,"he said."Be careful out there."Nodding, she dashed off, Shadow sinking into her...shadow. Ken looked around for a moment, then shrugged and started flying back to the entertainment building. He blew out some air for a moment, then sighed.

"Damn, I wish I knew how to whistle."

XXXX

End of Chapter

For anyone who's curious, Latios won the game, then Celebi kicked his ass. :D


	23. Chapter 23

Now, I give you all a more humorous chapter. Since Ken and his team are champions, wouldn't it make sense that they would have a huge fanbase?

Chapter 23:Everyone Hates the Media

"OH MY ARCEUS! IT'S KEN WOODS!"

There were two words that described how I felt as a huge crowd with cameras and microphones started scambling towards us.

OH. _SHIT_.

"RUN FOR IT!"I screamed to the others, spinning on my heel and running past them. They quickly followed after me, flying, running, and levitating to get away from the paparazzi. Sometimes it sucked to be famous. Why did the media have to hound us even when we weren't on our own damn continent? Only five minutes in Lavaridge and we're already about to get mobbed. Oi...

I looked back to see if they were gaining on us, only to find out that Serenity was falling behind. Crap!

'Everyone scatter!'I roared psychically.'We'll meet at the pokemon center in an hour!'In an almost instant response, they all (including Wrath, when they realized what the others were doing) flew off in different directions as I screeched to a halt, then shot back and scooped up Serenity in my arms. I ran full tilt towards the crowd, who immediately stopped, looking rather expectant and eager. Of course, it didn't take them long to figure out I wasn't going to stop, so they quickly scattered as I ran past, smirking smugly. As they turned and started to chase after us, I stopped on my foot and tore into an alley, only to see that it was leading to a dead end.

"Uh oh, what are we going to do now?"Serenity asked worriedly.

"Close your eyes and hang on,"I told her."You're about to feel really light-headed for a moment."She did as I told, then I narrowed my eyes and concentrated. Just before I crashed into the wall, I made us intangible and invisible with my ghost powers and phased right through, running through what looked like someone's living room before coming back outside on another street. I made sure no one was around before reappearing. I looked down at Serenity, who looked dazed as she opened her spinning eyes.

"Wh-what was that?"she mumbled, rubbing her head as I put her back down.

"I had to phase through the wall,"I told her apologetically."Told ya you would feel light-headed."

"That's an understatement,"she muttered, shaking her head."But how will you explain disappearing like that if they manage to catch us?"

"Well, for one thing, they're not going to catch us,"I said pointedly."As for an explanation, they'll just think you teleported us out of there."

"Oh, good point,"she said, then blinked."Wait, why _didn't_ I teleport us?"There was an awkward pause, then I shrugged helplessly and chuckled, shaking my head. She giggled in response.

"C'mon, we gotta find somewhere to hide for a while and wait for them to calm down."

"How do you know they will?"

"Well, if they're anything like the news crews in Sinnoh, they won't have very long attention spans."

She laughed again.

XXXX

Anubis yawned and stretched his arms as he laid out on a rooftop, then crossed them behind his head. He hoped the house's owners wouldn't mind him hanging out there for a while. He had an hour to kill, so why not spend it relaxing? Honestly, he wanted to go check out the hot springs, but figured the humans would more than likely be searching for them there.

Still, it was annoying that they would have to wait for their gym battle. Ken had told him he would be at a type disadvantage, since the gym used fire types, but he didn't care. Sure, relaxing was always nice, but it sure didn't help with boredom. Oh, well, he'd just have to live with it.

XXXX

Zapperton was in the dark corner of an alleyway, arms crossed as he leaned against a wall, unworried about being spotted. Even if those humans walked by him in their search, he would be gone before they could give a second glance. But while he did enjoy staying out of sight, it wasn't that fun if it wasn't a challenge.

Challenge...

He looked at his ring as his thoughts trailed back to that night with Frostaria. Arceus, she had been the best hunter he had ever hid from, but he'd be damned if it wasn't one of the most fun things he had ever done in his life! He knew the Boss pretty much hated her trainer, (Who wouldn't?) but he hoped that they would cross paths again.

He perked his head up, hearing approaching footsteps, then saw a few humans with cameras walking down the sidewalk. One of the reporters paused and looked down the alley he was in, then looked forward to the others.

"Hey! I think I found-huh?"he glanced back into the alley, only to see that the Electivire was already gone. Puzzled, the reporter scratched his head, then shrugged and walked faster to catch up to his news crew, Zaps watching from the roof with a smirk. Who was possibly more badass than him?

Aside from the Boss, of course.

XXXX

High above in the skies of Lavaridge Town was a giant, intimidating Gliscor. For those of you who weren't paying attention for the last 17 chapters, it was Fang. A content expression covered the Fang Scorp pokemon's face as he glided through the air, as his kind were wont to do.

Glancing down, he saw what he assumed was the news crew wandering around the streets looking for him and the others. He knew they wouldn't find any of them, especially not Zaps. Though he couldn't help but wonder what everyone was doing, other than the obvious.

XXXX

Psyche hummed as he continued to meditate, using his clairvoyant abilities to watch over his teammates. He had decided to hide where no one, not even Ken and the others, would think to look:the Hot Springs. He was sitting in the farthest spring away from the town, just to be certain no one happened to spot him.

He saw Ken and Serenity hiding behind a dumpster as a group of fans ran past them. The two blinked, turning their heads to look at where Psyche was watching them from, then smiled and waved.

Cracking his own smile, he looked around for a moment before spotting Anubis lying on a rooftop, snoring like a freight train with a cold. Then he saw Zaps land on the same roof and look at the sleeping Lucario, eyebrow raised. The Electivire walked over to him and lightly kicked Anubis in the side. The Lucario simply rolled over while muttering something about cotton candy Mareep. Zaps proceeded to snicker madly.

The Alakazam chuckled and searched some more before finding Wrath, who was actually close by. They were inside their keystone and blending in with a cluster of rocks. Psyche had to admit it was a good hiding spot for them.

He already knew that Fang was flying high in the sky, and so looked around for ZC. It didn't take him long to find them, but once he did, he couldn't help but think...

'What in blazes is Zephyr up to this time?'

XXXX

"Nyah, nyah! You can't catch me!"Zephyr taunted as the crowd continued to run after him. He giggled madly as he zipped through the streets, stopping occasionally to let them catch up, only to fly off just before they could catch him. Needless to say, the little robot was thoroughly enjoying himself.

'Brother, please remind me again why we are doing this,'COREM thought to Zephyr.

"It's fun!"Zephyr replied cheerfully."And besides, the others can relax if they're all chasin' us!"

'I see. That is very nice of you, Zephyr,'COREM said admirably.'Is there no end to your kindness, dear brother?'

"Heck if I know,"Zephyr shrugged. He looked back just in time to see the entire crowd toppling over each other in a giant pile. Zephyr instantly burst into mad, loud, and hysterical cackling. COREM mentally sweatdropped.

XXXX

End of Chapter

Just a filler chapter really. This story is going on a short haitus until I can finally finish my first story. Don't worry, it won't take too long.


	24. Chapter 24

To Bazinga 288:I think Utrom is a synonym for Ultra. It's based off Utrom Shredder from TMNT.

Chapter 24:Beating the Desert Heat

Do you know what a desert is like? If not, lemme give you a hint.

It's hot. Really. Fucking. Hot.

After beating Flannery and getting her badge, we were going to backtrack through the route we came from, only to find that the area was under construction. So, we reluctantly decided to go through the desert. Not our best group decision, I'll tell you. Wisely, the others had decided to rest in their pokeballs until I reached the other side of the desert. Unfortunately, poor Serenity had no such escape, and was forced to stay out here with me. Thanks to my powers over fire, I could withstand heat much better than most people, and even most pokemon, but Serenity was forced to feel the full intensity of the desert heat, so I decided to carry her. I was wearing my goggles and had my hood over my head, both to protect my eyes from the sun's intense glare. We had been wandering through the barren wasteland for a few hours, a few Skarmory flying in circles over our heads.

I glared up at the steel vultures."Get outta here! We're not dying!"

"Maybe not you, but you're friend doesn't look too healthy!"one of them called back. I looked down at the Kirlia in my arms, seeing that her eyelids were drooping.

"Serenity, you have to stay awake,"I told her worriedly.

"But it's...so...hot..."she panted quietly. Her 'hair' was damp with sweat, her lips were cracked, and she had some nasty sun burns, so yeah, she was in pretty bad shape. Without a second thought, I used my telekinesis to unzip my backpack and pulled out the last bottle of water I had. There wasn't much in it, but she desperately needed it. I pulled off the top and, using my ice powers to make it colder, brought the lid to her mouth.

"Here, drink,"I said, propping her head up and making sure she drank every bit of the water. Sighing, I put the bottle in my backpack as she licked her lips. Even though we were in the desert, that didn't mean I was going to litter; I respected the environment too much, even if it was torturing my friend."Feeling any better?"I knew it was a stupid question, she would need more water than that. Fortunately, I could see what looked like a bluff up ahead, which would offer some shade from the blistering heat.

"A little bit,"the Kirlia mumbled, smiling softly."Thanks..."I heard the sound of fluttering above us, then looked up to see the three Skarmory from before land in front of us.

"You're in my way,"I said irritably, eyes narrowed. The vultures pointed at Serenity with their wings. I sighed."Okay, two things. One: you can talk because I can understand pokemon, and two: Hell. No."

"All we want is the little morsel you're holding,"one of them grinned."There's something about you that we like, so just hand her over and we won't bother you."After he spoke, I sensed some anxiety from Serenity. Did she really think I would give her to them? I could only assume she was pretty delirious at the moment.

"Now, the thing is, that statement contradicts itself,"I calmly told the birds."If I hand her over to you, more than likely, you're going to eat her, which, as a matter of fact, would bother me."

They smirked at me."Yeah, that wasn't a request."

"How about this:Hand her over or we'll eat ya both!"one of them said with mock cheerfulness. I scowled at them.

"Get out of my way. Now."

"Why don't you make us?"another Skarmory taunted.

I stared at them for a long moment."You asked for it."I closed my eyes and bowed my head, taking a deep breath. I heard them laugh.

"Ooh, you one of those psychic humans?"one of them asked.

I grinned coldly, opening my now glowing eyes."And so much more."The desert sand began to shift and shake as I exerted my will on it, manipulating the thousands of grains and forming them into giant tendrils of sand in a circle around us. The Skarmorys gawked in disbelief as the tendrils of sand loomed over us, occasionally blocking out the sun's glare as I moved them back and forth threateningly, just for effect, really."You have one chance to get out of here. I suggest you take it."They didn't need to be told twice. Like the metal chickens they were, they fearfully flew off. Sighing again, I let the sandy tendrils back down. I looked back at Serenity, who was staring at me with a dazed smile."You okay?"

"Ken, you're amazing,"she mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Serenity?"I asked worriedly. She went limp."SERENITY!"No good. She was unconcious. I silently swore to myself, then started running towards the bluff up ahead at top speed, kicking up sand in my wake. It was only after a few seconds of running that I realized something that made me feel very stupid. I could fly much faster than I could run. I quickly leapt up with a burst of wind, flying through the air at triple my running speed and blowing up sand in my wake. Once I made it there, I gently laid Serenity on the sand, then I quickly released the others, who looked around before spotting the unconcious Kirlia.

"Whoa, what happened, Ken?"Anubis asked as they gathered around us in concern.

"She's suffering from heat exhaustion,"I said."We need to find water fast."

"What do you need us to do, boss?"Zaps asked.

"First off, Psyche,"I looked at the Alakazam."Do you know that meditation trick for finding water underground?"

He nodded."Yes. I've actually done it a few times before I joined the team."

"Good, cause you and I are going to do just that,"I told him."I saw some plant life while we were walking, so there should be some around somewhere. But just in case..."I put down my pack and pulled out a canteen."Fang, do you think you can fly around to find an oasis somewhere? That way, we can all get a drink."The Gliscor nodded, taking the canteen in a claw.

"Sure thing,"he said, turning around and then looking over his shoulder."Can ya give me a boost?"Nodding, I held an arm back, then swung it at him, creating a gust that sent the Gliscor into the air."I'll be back as soon as I can!"As he flew off, I looked at Anubis.

"Anubis, how far along are you with Healing Beam?"I asked. For those who don't know, Healing Beam is an actual move that a few pokemon, including Lucarios, could use to heal others.

Anubis scratched the back of his head."Well, I'm getting better at it, but it's kind of hard to heal the really bad stuff."

"Good enough for me,"I said."I want you to try to heal Serenity's sunburns. Can you handle that?"He looked down at the unconcious Kirlia and knelt down to examine her.

"Hmm, she doesn't look _too_ bad,"he mumbled, then nodded."I'll do my best, partner."

"That's all I ask."

"What do you desire of us, Ken?"COREM asked.

"I want you, Wrath, and Zaps to keep watch while the rest of us are busy,"I told them.

"Very well,"Wrath said.

Zephyr saluted."Yes, sir!"He then held his arms straight out and his head began to rotate; it was basically their form of radar.

"You got it, boss,"Zaps nodded at me. I nodded back, then Psyche and I sat down cross-legged and closed our eyes. I took a deep breath, and my conciousness escaped my body.

XXXX

_Hi! Imma Zephyr!_

**And as you can most likely guess, I am COREM. As you know, we are two computer programs who share the same physical body. Unlike other such programs, we are sentient beings.**

_That means we've got E-motions! Aren't we awesomesauce?_

**Obviously, he means 'emotions.' But while we are indeed capable of it like other living things, I am rather uncertain as to whether we have actual souls or not.**

I_ think we do, but COREM's too logical. He thinks we don't have 'em just cause we're a robot._

**Regardless, we are proud to call ourselves members, or a member, of Ken's team. Sometimes our situation confuses even us. Zephyr, would you be so kind as to tell the readers what is happening at the moment?**

_Okey-dokey, bro! Our head was spinning cause we were usin' our radar function._

**...**

_...More?_

**Yes, Zephyr.**

_Oh, uhh...well, while Ken and Psyche were metabolizing-_

**Meditating.**

_Yeah, that-Zaps was climbing up the big rock thingy, I dunno why._

**I believe he was trying to obtain a better view of the desert.**

_Oh. Anywho, it got pretty boring after a couple of minutes. We detected some stuff a couple miles away, but nothing was heading our way. I wanted to see if I could get their attention from where we were, but COREM said that was a bad idea. Eventually, Anubis got done fixing up Serenity, but she still had a couple of burns left. We were gonna stop and ask how she was, but then we found something huge! Wanna tell 'em, COREM?_

**Certainly. We detected what appeared to be a large metal structure near the far corner of the desert. Upon further scanning, we were able to confirm it as a Chrome Syndicate base. Needless to say, we immediately decided to tell the others. We quickly faced Anubis and Wrath. The former had been sitting against the bluff at the moment with his head bowed and eyes closed, while the latter had been near the edge of the bluff's shade.**

"Anubis, Wrath there is a problem,"**I said urgently. They looked at me in response, eyebrows raised.**

"What's the matter?"**Anubis**** asked, his tone laced with excitement.**"Trouble coming our way?"**I could have sworn I saw him hiding a grin. He enjoys fighting far too much.**

"Worse. There is a Chrome Syndicate base approximately 2.4 miles to the east of here,"**I told them.**

**Anubis blinked, frowning.**"Okay, that's not good."**He looked up.**"Hey, Zaps, Get down here! We got an issue!"

_We looked up to see Zaps poke his head out, but for some reason, he didn't say 'Peekaboo, I see you!' Weirdo. He climbed back down the big rock and landed between us and Anubis while Wrath floated over._

"Now what?"Zaps_ asked, sounding the same way he does whenever he talks to me._

_COREM pointed our arm._"There is a Chrome Syndicate base to the east. We must alert Ken and Psyche as soon as they awaken."_Right after he said that, we heard a giant flapping sound, then we all looked up and saw Fang coming down, landing a few feet away._

"Did you find some water, Fang?"_Anubis asked._

_Fang grinned, pointing a claw to the south. Were we havin' a pointing game?_"Better! There's a Pokemon Center a few miles that-a-way!"

XXXX

I gasped as I my eyes opened, bringing a hand to my head and blinking a few times.

"Whoo, I gotta remember to brace for that next time,"I muttered. I immediately noticed everyone looking at me.

"You find anything, Ken?"Anubis asked. I shook my head, then he pointed at Psyche."What about him?"

"He should be up in-"I was interrupted when Psyche gasped suddenly, eyes opening."Zero seconds."

"Aah, it's been a while since I've done that,"he remarked, looking around. We both stood up and I looked at Serenity. A lot of her sunburns were gone, but she still had a few here and there.

I smiled at Anubis."You did a good job."

He smirked smugly, crossing his arms."Yeah, I know."I rolled my eyes.

"Anything happen while we were out?"I asked, noticing Fang had returned. ZC pointed an arm to the east.

"We have detected a Chrome Syndicate base approximately 2.4 miles to the east of here,"COREM said. I blinked in surprise at that, noticing Fang looked surprised, too.

"What are we going to do about it?"Psyche asked, glancing at me.

I sighed in annoyance."Well, I enjoy blowing up CS bases as much as most of you guys, but we have to get Serenity out of this desert. She needs medical attention."

"Then it's a good thing there's a center a few miles from here,"Fang said with a proud grin, pointing in the opposite direction COREM had pointed as he tossed me the canteen I had given him earlier.

"There is? Great!"I smiled widely, quickly putting the canteen in my backpack. I quickly scooped up Serenity in my arms, then looked around."You guys feel like running/flying across the desert or do you want to return your pokeballs for now?"

"We will take that offer,"Wrath said."We would only slow you down."

"Same here,"Anubis said, raising a paw."As much I'd love to go for a run, the desert doesn't exactly have my ideal temperature."

"I think we all will,"Psyche said. Everyone nodded in agreement, except Zephyr, obviously. After we convinced him that the heat could cause him to...well, _over_heat, I flicked my head, causing their pokeballs to fly out via telekinesis and return them, then I quickly brought them back to my belt. After that, I lifted myself into the air and took off in the direction Fang had pointed. Sure enough, only a few moments later, I saw the familiar red roof of a pokemon center. I quickly landed a few meters away from it and ran the rest of the way there, the front doors sliding open and forcing me to screech to a halt before I collided with the front desk, where a very surprised Nurse Joy was standing.

"Oh my! Are you alright, young man?"she asked worriedly as I took a few deep breaths to steady my heart rate.

"I'm fine,"I said a bit breathlessly."My Kirlia needs help. She's suffering from heat exhaustion, dehydration, and sunburns."

"Oh, dear,"she said, then brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled."Chansey! We need a gurney in here stat!"Almost instantly, a Chansey ran into the room with said stretcher, and I quickly placed Serenity on it."Chansey, it's the usual ailnesses. Get her to the ER."

"Yes, ma'am!"the Chansey said, proceeding to do just that and carting Serenity out of the room. Nurse Joy turned to me.

"Don't worry, we've handled plenty of cases like your Kirlia's,"she said with a gentle smile."We'll take good care of her."

I sighed in relief."Good to hear."

"By the way, was that your big Gliscor I saw earlier?"she asked curiously. I nodded.

"Yeah, I sent him out to find some water,"I said.

"Well, it's a good thing found us,"Joy smiled.

I nodded again, then jabbed a thumb over my shoulder."Ma'am, I need to go back out for a while to take care of something."

"What? Why?"

"Sorry, I can't say,"I said apologetically."If Serenity, the Kirlia, wakes up before I get back, just tell her I'm dealing with the CS. She'll know what it means."

"Well, I would advise against it, but...alright,"she conceded.

"Thanks,"I said, then I turned around and dashed out of the building.

XXXX

Well, that took longer than I wanted. Ah, well. Next chapter will finally have some action. And explosions! Those are always nice, right?

So, yeah, I decided to put part of this chapter in Zephyr and COREM's POV. I hope you're not _too_ weirded out.


	25. Chapter 25

Okay, took too long to write this, but better late than never, right?

Chapter 25:Desert Base Assault

They never saw us coming. Then again, they never do.

A tall electric fence surrounded the medium-sized building, but really, how can that keep out a guy who can control lightning (and every other element, for that matter) like putty? I grabbed the netting of the front gate, unbothered by the electric jolt I had received, (Raikou and Zapdos had hit me with worse) then ripped it off it's hinges and threw it to the side, allowing the others to storm in, attacks blazing as klaxons went off.

Our mission here was simple:Destroy everything.

Anubis, Psyche, and I had searched the base with our special senses, and found that there weren't any prisoner pokemon here, so we were free to annihilate the place without restraint.

Before I continue, let me tell you a bit about Chrome Syndicate bases. They're typically in three different types. There were prison bases, where, as the name suggests, they kept pokemon prisoners for torture. Yyyeah, the members of the Chrome Syndicate mostly consists of sadists. Next, there were drone production bases, where they made dozens of drones, who were also the main defense force of said bases. Finally, there were research labs, where they did twisted experiments on pokemon for...some reason. We're not entirely sure what they're trying to figure out, because they always made absolutely sure we could never take any of their research papers or interrogate them, going so far as to set their own labs on fire and even kill themselves, the stupid zealots. There were a few other kinds of bases, but I'll tell you about those some other time, cause I'm rambling way too much as is. So much for 'a bit.'

"Nice welcome,"Anubis remarked as human soldiers filed out of the base, forming a defensive line between us and the building, then aiming their guns at us. A man walked in front of them as I walked in front of the team.

"Element Knight, you are trespassing on Chrome Syndicate property,"the man said."Evacuate your creatures from the premises immediately."

I rolled my eyes."Okay, two things, nimrod,"I said. I held up a finger."One:They're called pokemon."I held up another finger."And two:I've _destroyed_ Chrome Syndicate property. Do you honestly think I give a damn about trespassing?"

"Oh, we know all about your destructive behavior towards us,"the man said, sounding irritated. His eyes narrowed."You're a disgrace to human beings everywhere. Aiding those..._things_ in trying to destroy us all, and infecting yourself with their unholy energy."

"_I'm_ a disgrace?"I asked rhetorically."I'll admit, I'm not the first one to vouch for humankind, but I've got no intention of destroying it."

"The dozens of soldiers and _hundreds_ of robots you and you're evil friends destroyed beg to differ,"the man said coldly."You still say you're not trying to destroy all of humankind?"

"Yes,"I said flatly."The only reason we're offing your soldiers and robots is because you and your idiotic Syndicate attacked first!"

"We are carrying out God's will by wiping these creatures off the face of the Earth!"the man shot back.

"What, do you live in a cave?"I asked incredulously."Arceus is our god, you moron. Y'know, Arceus the Alpha _Pokemon_?"

"Blasphemy!"the man said angrily. I heard an array of clicking from the line of guns, but the man held up an arm, still glaring at me."Arceus is nothing but an unholy myth. The Devil in disguise."He snorted."Besides, even if you were speaking the truth, why would this Arceus allow us humans to roam the planet? It would have destroyed us ages ago."

"Then, by that same logic, you're 'god' would have destroyed all pokemon ages ago, too,"I retorted calmly."Mind explaining _that_?"

"That's the difference between humans and pokemon,"the man said."Our god is merciful, unlike the creatures you work with."

''You just said you're carrying out your god's will to destroy all pokemon!"I said irritably, slowly beginning to gather energy."And apparently, that will includes taking innocent pokemon from their homes just to torture them for your own twisted pleasure. You call _that_ merciful?"

"Hmph, I wouldn't expect a fool like you to understand,"he said snidely.

I shook my head, my energy peaking."You're right, I don't understand,"I said with deceptive calm."And I don't want to!"I suddenly stomped my foot into the ground, causing a wall of sand to erupt from in between us and them. Then I quickly thrust my arms forward, sending the wall toppling into them. I looked over my shoulder at the others.

"Let's wipe 'em out."

We charged forward.

XXXX

I groaned as I opened my eyes, only to have a bright light stinging at them. Once my eyes adjusted to the harsh lights, I looked around, but I didn't know where I was. There were some strange wires on me connected to some beeping machines. Where was Ken? What happened?

I was about to start panicking when a familiar looking human walked into the room. It was Nurse Joy, much to my relief. Though it always confused me that they all looked exactly the same. I had thought only pokemon were like that.

"Hello, there,"she said sweetly. "You're in a Pokemon Center. Do you know what that is?"To be honest, I figured that out the moment she walked in the room. I nodded at her, giving her a questioning look."If you're wondering where your trainer is, he just said that he's dealing with the 'CS.' He said you would know what that means."

CS? Oh, that must mean the Chrome Syndicate. So, they have a base here? I hope Ken and the others are alright.

I nodded at her again, and she smiled.

"You should be healed up completely in a little bit,"the nurse told me. I blinked. Healed? Oh, right. We had been in the desert. The last thing I remembered was Ken scaring away those Skarmory. I guess I had passed out. I nodded at her one last time, then she walked out of the room.

XXXX

I quickly ducked and weaved through the laser blasts as I ran forward, the others' attacks blazing past me as I gathered the desert's rather abundant heat around me to become a giant, raging fire ball as I kept charging forward. The few lasers that managed to hit me were absorbed into the flames, only making it bigger. Once I was close enough, I leapt forward and curled myself into a ball. I landed in the middle of them and sent the fire outwards in a flaming explosion.

I didn't see the results first-hand, since I _was_ curled up, but judging from the pained screams, I'd say I did some decent damage. I uncurled myself and stood on all fours, looking around to see many of the soldiers lying on the ground, all with multiple burns across their scattered bodies, and I inwardly cringed. I enjoyed destroying countless drones, but actually killing people was still something I was getting used to. Still, if I didn't kill them, they wouldn't hesitate to kill me, so I really didn't have much choice in the matter.

I heard a whirring noise from behind me, but instead of turning around, I leapt up with a burst of wind just in time to avoid a laser blast, blowing up a cloud of sand in my wake. I quickly brought a hand up and created a sphere of dark type energy in it. I fired it down in a wave of darkness which collided with the guy who I had been arguing with, who was also the one who had shot at me. As I fell back to the ground, I watched the dark energy surge through him, effectively killing him. Kill or be killed, remember?

But...even after all this time, even if they all deserved to die for their crimes, I don't think I would I ever get used to killing. I'm only glad the rest of the team felt the same way I did.

"I think that's all of 'em,"Anubis remarked, eyes closed as he slowly turned his head.

"How do you know? Your eyes are closed,"Zephyr said, confused.

The Lucario paused, then brought a paw to his eyes."Um, duh? Aura sight."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that,"Zephyr mumbled. We ignored him, turning our heads to the entrance.

"Well, might as well as go and see what's in there,"I said, walking towards the building."The sooner we're done here, the sooner we can get out of this desert."

"Sounds good to me,"Anubis murmured, he and the others following me inside. After walking through a short hallway, we found a door blocking our way to the next room, but I noticed something rather suspicious.

"Hold on a sec, guys,"I muttered, holding up a hand.

"What is it, Ken?"Wrath asked.

"Do any of you notice anything...off about this door?"I asked, glancing back at them. They all stared at the door in puzzlement, then Psyche blinked in realization.

"Ah, I see. There's no lock,"the Alakazam said."No lock, no keypad, no security measure whatsoever."

"Exactly,"I nodded.

"So, what? The room's booby-trapped or something?"Fang guessed.

"With what, I don't know,"I replied.

Anubis closed his eyes again."Huh, I don't see anyone in there...oop, hold on...yeah, there are sentry guns hanging from the ceiling; 4 of 'em. You're right, Ken, that room's rigged."

"Typical,"Zaps sighed.

"Now we need to figure out what kind of guns they are,"I mused, hand on my chin."Hmm...alright, clear a path."I put my hand on the door's handle as the others moved to the sides of the hall."Three...two...one!"I yanked the door open, moving to the side to avoid possible laser fire, but none came."Well, that rules out motion detection, which leaves..."I trailed off, creating a fire ball in my hand, then I quickly tossed it in, watching as the guns instantly pointed at the projectile and started uselessly firing at it. The fire ball landed in the middle of the room, the guns continuing to fire at it until it eventually burned out, the weapons stopping once it was gone."Check. They're heat-seekers. Alright, I've got an idea."

I created a fire ball in each hand, then levitated them with telekinesis and brought them into the room. Being careful not to get my head shot off by the following laser fire, I maneuvered the fire balls so that the guns were pointing at each other. You can probably piece together what happened after that. Once the guns were destroyed, we advanced through the room to another door, but there was smoke leaking out from it. Noticing this, I was careful about opening it, but it ended up leading to a laboratory...that was on fire...with a few dead bodies littering the floor.

I shook my head."_Idiots_..."I held my hands, my armor glowing red as I started absorbing the flames.

"What is _wrong_ with these guys?"Anubis asked, sounding more exasperated than disturbed. Not surprising, we had already seen this quite a few times.

"Do they truly believe martyring themselves like this is the right thing to do?"Psyche asked distastefully.

"Sure looks that way,"Zaps muttered as I managed to absorb the last of the fire.

"Start looking around,"I said, my armor returning to normal."Maybe we'll find something about what their planning."

And so, we searched high and low through the ruined lab. After a few moments, ZC called us over.

"What'd you find?"I asked as we approached.

"It appears to be some sort blueprint,"COREM replied, moving to the side and allowing me to look at a blue paper on a table. A good portion of it had been burned away, but I could make out some kind of diagram on it. It looked like some kind of glass tube with a small glass container on its top. There was also some ridiculously complex formula with burn holes gaping through it I couldn't make heads or tails of. Yes, I was a genius, but not exactly a technological one.

"What's that supposed to be?"Fang asked.

"I have no idea,"I admitted, curling up the paper in my hands."I'll give it to Mewtwo or Uxie at our next meeting. They should be able to figure it out. For now, let's just get the hell out of here."They unanimously agreed.

Of course, we did some interior decorating before heading out, if you know what I mean. Heh heh.

XXXX

"Oh, you're back!"Nurse Joy said as I walked in the front door."I take it your 'CS' business is settled?"

I nodded."Done and done. How's Serenity doing?"

She smiled, pointing behind me."Take a look for yourself."I blinked, then whirled around and looked down to see Serenity smiling up at me.

I blinked again."Hey, there you are,"I said, then telepathically added 'How'd you get there without me sensing you?'

"I'm getting better at shielding my mind,"she replied verbally, knowing Joy couldn't understand her anyway. I glanced over my shoulder at the nurse.

"Thanks for fixing her up,"I said.

"My pleasure,"she smiled again."Just make sure you get out of here fast. Did you come from the north entrance to the desert?"I nodded."Then you're in luck. The south exit is less than a mile away."

"Good to know."

XXXX

End of Chapter

And again, that took too long. As any writer will tell you, writer's block is a pain in the ass.


	26. Chapter 26

There is a perfectly logical explanation as to why I haven't updated in the past 2 or so months.

Just give me a few minutes to make it up.

Chapter 26:Nine-Tailed Newcomer

We had gone back through Mauville, going past the large river that seperated it from Route 218. We had decided to go North through Route 119 to reach Fortree City, and that's where we were right now. It was around midday and we had decided to rest in a clearing of the forest we were passing through. The team were all doing the usual things, but I was actually training Serenity, trying to help her get stronger, and Psyche was helping us out.

"Alright, now lift it up slowly, don't strain yourself,"I said calmly, watching as Serenity's eyes glowed, the Kirlia focusing on a small boulder I had brought up from the ground with my powers. A blue light outlined the boulder, and Serenity seemed to tense up, the boulder slowly lifting a few feet off the ground."Good. Now try and hold it there for as long as you can."

"I'll try..."Serenity said, teeth gritted and eyes clenched shut. Noticing this, I glanced at Psyche, who was standing next to me.

"Spot her a little bit, will you?"

The Alakazam nodded, then pointed a spoon forward, and the glowing grew just slightly, then Serenity let out a small sigh of relief. After a few moments, she gasped and the boulder dropped, the small Psychic falling to her knees and panting. I quickly jogged over and knelt down to her.

"Are you alright?"I asked, frowning at how tired she looked.

"I just...need a...a break,"she breathed tiredly.

I nodded at her."Alright, let's get you a drink while we're at it,"I said. I helped her to her feet and we walked to the center of camp, where I got a bottle of water from my bag as she sat down cross-legged. After twisting off the cap, I handed the bottle to her, and she brought it to her lips before chugging down a bit of it. Quite a bit of it, actually. I raised an eyebrow as she pulled the bottle away, gasping a little bit."Thirsty?"I asked humorously.

She cracked a smile."Maybe a little bit."

"Ken, may I make a suggestion for her training?"Psyche asked, walking over to us.

I jokingly scowled at him."Of course not. Why would I care what you have to think?"

The Alakazam rolled his eyes, but smiled."I think we should focus more on having Serenity learn defensive and supportive abilities. The Gardevoir line is known for specializing in those categories, after all."

I thought about it for a moment."You've got a point there,"I admitted, then looked at Serenity."It's up to you, though. I'm cool with whatever, so long as you'll be capable of defending yourself."I shrugged. I know it may have seemed cruel to say that, but I just didn't want her to be the damsel in distress of our team. And I knew she felt the same way. Heck, it's why we were training her.

"So long as it doesn't put me on the verge of passing out all the time, I'm fine with it,"Serenity said, also shrugging."But who's going to teach me? No one on the team knows any support moves I can learn."She blinked."Do they? I'm not exactly sure what all I can learn..."

I brought a hand to my chin, trying to remember what moves the Gardevoir line could learn."Let's see...if memory serves, your line can learn Will-o-Wisp, Thunder Wave...ahhh..."I tapped my forehead with a finger, trying to get my brain to work right."Lucky Chant, Imprison, Hypnosis, Wish, Heal Pulse, and Healing Wish. There's a lot more, but I can't rem-ah, Safeguard. I remember that much, but like I was saying, there's a lot more."

"Wow, I can learn a lot, can't I?"Serenity asked, sounding a bit surprised."I think I can do couple of those, err..."She looked down in thought, then blinked in realization."Oh, I think I can use Safeguard, Imprison, and Hypnosis, but...that's it."She shrugged again, almost apologetically.

"There's nothing to be sorry for,"I told her."It's not like you can help it."I rubbed my chin."Let's see if you can use those moves."I turned my head to Psyche, grinning."Feel like being a test dummy?"

The Alakazam shook his head."Ah, no thank you."

I chuckled."Just kidding, Psyche. Go on and take a break. Thanks for your help."Psyche nodded, then turned and walked off as I looked back at Serenity, who stood back up."I guess you'll just have to use me for practice. Let's start off with Hynos-"I paused and looked around, sensing something, or rather, 3 things, approaching the camp. I looked at Serenity to see her looking around before looking back at me.

"Do you sense that, too?"she asked.

I nodded, then raised my head."Look natural, everybody. We got company fast approaching."Other than Psyche, they all glanced at me for a moment, then they went right back to what they had been doing. I looked down at Serenity."As far as I can sense, two humans are chasing a pokemon down, and they don't seem all that friendly, if their thoughts are anything to go by."Serenity stared at me in amazement.

"But they're not even that close by,"she said, eyes wide."How can you read their minds from here?"

"With great difficulty,"I replied humorously. I sat down on my rump, crossing my legs."Sit. Meditate with me."She did just that, and we both closed our eyes and relaxed. A few moments later, we sensed the fleeing pokemon, feeling very worried and afraid, running just outside the clearing before settling down somewhere in the woods ahead of me and behind Serenity. Barely three seconds later, the two humans entered the clearing, then I opened my eyes to look at them. One of them was a short and, to be honest, fat man with a red mustach and bushy eyebrows, wearing tan clothes that made him look like he was on a safari. The man next to him was skinny and tall with brown hair, wearing similar clothes. Both of them were carrying plenty of hunting equipment. Tranquilizer guns, nets, you name it. I stood up as the two men walked up to me."Can I help you?"

"We're looking for a rare pokemon, kid,"the short man said. Kid, huh? They didn't know who I was. Can't say I wasn't surprised."You seen one around here?"

"You're looking for a rare pokemon?"I asked, then I barked out a laugh, grinning at them."Aren't we all?"Obviously, I wanted to make them think I was just another goofy, average trainer.

The taller man rolled his eyes."Look, buddy, if you see a Ninetales around here, let us know, alright?"

"No promises,"I grinned again. The two looked at each other in exasperation, then stalked past me and into the woods.

When they were gone, Serenity stood back up and giggled as the others came over."You're a very good actor, Ken."

"Thanks,"I said, then looked directly at the spot where I sensed the pokemon, which was apparently a Ninetales, was at."You can come out now. They're gone."There was silence for a moment, then a beautiful, yellow furred fox with nine long tails slowly walked out of the woods, staring at me with both surprise and trepidation.

"How-how did you know I was there?"she asked, her voice almost melodious, despite the obvious surprise in it.

I shook my head."That's not important at the moment. What's your name? And why were they after you?"

She instantly narrowed her eyes, hackles rising."Why should I tell you, human?"

"Well, he did just save your tails. A little common courtesy would be nice,"Anubis said bluntly, then I bonked his head with a fist without looking at him, shutting him up.

"So, you don't like humans, huh?"I asked rhetorically."Can't say I blame you. I don't like them either."

"...You're a human."

"And what does that tell you?"

She looked like she was about to smile, but she didn't. Though she did relax a bit more."I see. My name is Krysta.'"

"Why were they after-?"I started to ask, but then I stopped myself."Right. Stupid question. You're a rare pokemon."

She blinked at me, as if in realization, and her eyes went wide."Wait a moment, how can you even understand me?"

"Duhhh, I'm all special and stuff,"I said dumbly, causing the team to snicker. The fox blinked in confusion, and I chuckled."Tell you what, you tell us your story and we'll tell you ours. Sound good?"

Krysta sighed."Very well. I was born on Mt. Pyre, a mountain far to the East of here. Do you know of it?"

"Yeah, it's a place where pokemon are put to rest,"I said.

She nodded."Correct. I am a caretaker there. It my duty to watch over the resting places of the deceased to make sure nothing untoward happens."She sighed again, head bowed in shame."And now...I have failed in my duty. Those two humans came one day and captured me. It was only days later, when I was taken far away from my home, that I managed to escape their grasp. They have been chasing me for the past week, trying again and again to catch me. They came very close more times than I care to remember."We were all silent, listening intently."It is because of them that I cannot return home. I was too weak to avoid capture the first time, what's to stop them from trying again and again?"

I hummed to myself, glancing at the others questioningly. Then, as if they were all somehow reading my mind, they nodded. I nodded back, then looked back at the Ninetales."That's quite a predicament you have there."I smiled."So, it's a good thing you've found us."

Krysta started."Wh-what? What do you mean?"

"He means we'll help you get back home, see?"Zaps smirked.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about those meanies anymore!"Zephyr chirped cheerfully.

"But-but I don't even know you! What could you possibly have to gain from helping me?"she asked.

"Aside from a clear concience?"I asked casually. I shrugged."Nothing, really. It's what we do."

"...I-I don't know what to say..."she murmured, looking at me intently."Who are you?"

I cracked a grin, holding a hand up."I'm Ken Woods,"I said coolly, then I clenched my fist, creating a fire around it, and causing the Ninetales to gasp."And I'm the Element Knight, a human chosen by the Legendary pokemon to take down the Chrome Syndicate."

The fox just stared at me, stunned."Incredible..."

"Heh, I get that a lot,"I remarked, letting the flame disappate and dropping my arm to my side. I motioned an arm towards the others."This is my team. Anubis, Zapperton, Fang, ZC, Psyche, Wrath, and Serenity."I pointed at each of them as I said their names, each of them of waving or nodding as I did so. Krysta nodded at them, but looked at Wrath with wide eyes.

"A-a Spiritomb?"she asked worriedly."Why on Earth would you want such an evil creature in your ranks?"Wrath frowned shamefully, shrinking in on themselves slightly and looking uncomfortable.

I also frowned."Wrath isn't like most Spiritombs."

"I beg your pardon?"Krysta asked skeptically."Spiritombs are hives of evil and hateful spirits who thrive on malice and destruction. How is this Spiritomb different?"

"Would you believe that every single soul that makes up Wrath is innocent of the crimes they were accused of?"I asked with a completely straight face.

"Wh-what?"

"It's true,"Wrath said quietly."Every soul within our being is innocent. By some fluke of destiny, we were all framed and somehow locked away in the very same keystone you see below us."

"But how do you know they are telling the truth?"Krysta asked me, still looking rather untrusting.

"Because Arceus Himself told me so,"I replied calmly, causing her jaw to drop.

"Y-y-you've met...the Original One...?"she asked shakily.

I nodded."You might, too, if we have another meeting before we reach Mt. Pyre."

She blinked."Meeting? W-what do you mean?"

"Look, we've already explained alot,"I said."You obviously need time to absorb everything. Add that to the fact that you've been on the run for, about a week, you said?"She nodded."Well, yeah, I think you could use a break."Suddenly, her stomach growled rather loudly, and she blushed."And apparently some food."The team and I chuckled.

Later that day, we were all sitting around the campfire, taking turns telling Krysta our different stories as we ate, them pokemon food (though we had to convince the Ninetales it was safe to eat) and me some fruits and berries. (I'm a vegetarian) Once we had finished, she looked down in thought for a moment, then looked back up at us.

"So...this Chrome Syndicate you spoke of,"she started."Do you know exactly how they intend to go about their plans?"

I shook my head."No, we've got bits and peices of it, but we're still trying to figure out how it all fits together. For all we know, they could have more than one plan."

"How disconcerting..."Krysta murmured."Don't these fools know that we pokemon are what keep the world from falling apart at the seams?"

"They might know, but they sure don't care,"I replied, popping a Leppa Berry in my mouth. After gulping it down, I pushed myself to my feet, cracking my back with two hands, then I looked down at Serenity."So, you ready to get back to training?"The Kirlia nodded, also standing up.

"Training?"Krysta echoed, looking at us curiously.

"Yeah, we're trying to make Serenity here stronger so she doesn't have to rely on the rest of us,"I replied.

Serenity rolled her eyes."Wow, you make it sound so flattering, Ken."

"Sorry,"I said apologetically.

"Do you think I could join you?"Krysta asked suddenly. So suddenly, in fact, that it took a couple of seconds for me to register what she was asking.

"Uhh, sure,"I said."What for?"

"As I said before, I was too weak to avoid capture when those two humans arrived at my home,"Krysta said, then she gave a rather nasty grin."But if I were to become stronger by our next encounter..."

"Ah, I see,"I said."Then you'd be able to give them some payback."

"Precisely."

"Alright then, you can train with us,"I said. She smiled gratefully, then I blinked as I realized something."Come to think, you might actually be able to help us out."I turned around and glanced at them, motioning with a hand."C'mon, you two."The three of us walked back over to where we had been training, then I turned to them and sat down cross-legged so I was at eye-level with them."So, Krysta, what moves do you know?"

The Ninetales glanced up in thought."Let's see...there's Flamethrower, Energy Ball, Sunny Day, Confuse Ray, Safeguard, Imprison, Will-o-Wisp, and Hypnosis."

I nodded, cracking a smile."Just as I thought. We were about to start teaching Serenity to use those last four moves. So you could help teach her while we focus on making you both stronger."

"Hmm, that's a very good idea,"Krysta said."You're rather clever for a human."

"I get that alot, too,"I quipped. I clapped my hands twice."So! Why don't we start with Imprison? Since you both know the same moves, I figure that would be a good place to start."

"Sounds good to me,"Serenity said.

"Very well. How do we start?"Krysta asked.

"That...is a very good question,"I said hesitantly, bringing a hand to my chin. They both giggled."Okay, okay, how about this: Krysta, try using Imprison on Serenity, that way, she'll know what it feels like."

"I suppose that could work,"Krysta said, then she turned to face Serenity, who seemed to brace herself as the fox's eyes gave off an eerie off-white glow."Are you ready?"The psychic nodded."Alright."Suddenly, Serenity's body started giving off the same off-white glow as Krysta's eyes, and she blinked.

"This feels strange,"the Kirlia murmured, glancing down at her body with a raised eyebrow."Now what do I do?

"Try to use Safeguard,"I suggested.

"Okay,"she said, then she closed her eyes. After a moment, she scrunched her face up a bit, frowning in irritation while Krysta simply kept staring at her, eyes still glowing. Finally, Serenity opened her eyes and glanced at me, shaking her head."I can't do it. It kind of feels like there's something holding me back in my mind."

"That's basically how it works,"Krysta said, her eyes returning to normal and Serenity's glow disappating."You must mentally envision yourself holding back your opponent, keeping them from reaching the level of focus required to do whatever they're attempting."

"I guess that makes sense,"Serenity said.

"Alright, now it's time for you to reverse roles,"I said, crossing my arms."Use Imprison on Krysta."

"I'll try..."Serenity said, not sounding all too certain.

I didn't like that."No, Serenity. You're either going to do it, or you won't. There's no trying."She looked at me in surprise, then a determined expression crossed her face, and she nodded, looking back at Krysta. Taking a deep breath, the psychic's eyes started giving the same glow as before, and Krysta followed suit, glancing at down at herself almost casually. I glanced at the fox."Krysta?"

"She's doing it, I can tell,"the Ninetales said."I don't need to try to use a move to feel it."

"Try anyway,"I said."I want to see how long she can keep it up."

"If you insist,"she said also closing her eyes.

Now, to the usual observer, it would look like the two were just standing there with their eyes closed, as if meditating. However, to anyone with psychic power (e.g: me), it was easy to sense the mental tug-of-war going on between them. Of course, after a few seconds, the two were starting to grit their teeth/fangs in concentration, Serenity bringing a hand to her head and Krysta's hackles rising. After another moment, it suddenly occured to me that the two were trying much harder than they should have been.

"Alright, stop,"I said, but neither of them seemed to hear me. Frowning in concern, I brought either hand to their heads and lightly flicked them both between the eyes, snapping them out of it and causing the glow to disappear.

"What was that for?"Serenity asked, bringing a hand to the spot I'd flicked her.

"Yes, that was a bit rude,"Krysta frowned at me.

"I told you both to stop,"I said calmly, making them blink."You two were so focused on what you were doing that you didn't even hear me. I had to snap you both out of it before you overexerted yourselves."

"Oh,"Serenity said, blushing slightly.

"I suppose we did get carried away..."Krysta admitted.

"It's fine,"I said, waving it off."Happened to me more than once during my own training. When I was training with my powers."I added the last part when they gave me confused looks."Now let's focus on Hyp-"

"Hey, kid!"

"-nosis,"I finished lamely, then blandly thought "Crap."

XXXX

End of Chapter

So, yeah. As you can see, I've changed my username, today, in fact. 


	27. Chapter 27

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY. I'VE FINALLY UPDATED.

Chapter 27:The Denied Hunters

I stood up straight as the two men approached, wide grins on their faces. I just stared at them passively, keeping a calm expression on my face as they looked between me and Krysta, the fox looking fearful.

"Nice going, kid!"the short guy grinned up at me."You saved us the trouble of tracking her down!"I glanced at Krysta, who looked back at me in alarm and worry.

"Is-Is that true?"she stammered. I gave her a kind smile and simply shook my head.

'Nah, these idiots have it all wrong,'I replied telepathically.'If they want to take you away, they'll have to go through me and the others first. And I really doubt they'll be accomplishing that anytime soon.' The Ninetales tilted her head at me, looking surprised again.

"Hey, kid, are you listening?"the tall man asked. I looked back at them to see confused frowns on their faces.

"You both are going to leave,"I stated bluntly."Right now."They stared at me in shock for a moment, then glared daggers at me.

"Oh no you don't,"the short man growled, eyes narrowed."We found that fox first! We get to keep her, not you!"

"Yeah, we're getting the money for that Ninetales!"the taller man declared.

"You didn't find her,"I replied coldly, the sudden ice in my voice making them blink in surprise."You went to her home, captured and dragged her away from where she belonged, and when she managed to escape you, you jackasses decided to hunt her all over this side of Hoenn for a quick buck, which, if memory serves, is a federal crime instituted by the National Pokemon League."The two men stared at me for a very long moment, flabbergasted and mouths agape as I simply glared back.. Finally, the men managed to compose themselves as the others came up to us.

"Well, if you know all that...somehow...then you realize we went through a lot to chase that fox down,"the taller man said, irritated."There's no way we're going to let some stupid kid take what belongs to us."

"That Ninetales will earn us a fortune on the black market,"the short man said. His eyes widened for a moment, as if he was realizing something, then he glared at me again."Wait, I get it. You just want that Ninetales for yourself!"I blinked at them, a frown now on my face.

"What?"I asked incredulously, feeling offended at being accused of something like that. The two men smirked at me, stupidly believing they'd figured it out.

"That's it, isn't it?"the short man chuckled."You hypocrite. You just want the money for yourself. And you were spewing that we were breaking the law?"

My eyes narrowed as I struggled to control the rage I felt from his accusation."Alright, you idiots. I want you to listen to me very carefully."I walked forward a few steps so that I was standing within arm's length of them, and they watched me with surprised expressions."My name is Ken Woods. I'm the most recent Sinnoh League Champion."The two froze after hearing that."And as a champion, I have some rights and privileges other trainers don't. First off, I'm allowed to take pokemon into my custody if I deem them in need of protection, regardless of how many pokemon are already in my team, so I'm going to bring this Ninetales back to her home. Secondly, I'm more than capable of arresting you two imbeciles here and now for attempt to illegally capture and sell pokemmon on the black market, and unless you leave RIGHT THIS MINUTE, you better damn well believe that's exactly what I'm going to do."The two backed away from me, eyes wide in shock.

"Y-you can't prove anything..."the taller man stammered, looking more like he was trying to convince himself of that.

A cold smile crossed my face."Is that so?"I asked rhetorically, then I glanced over my shoulder."ZC, could you show these two men a little program you picked up when you evolved into a Porygon2?"The normal type nodded, then a rewinding noise sounded from their body, which was followed by a recording.

"That Ninetales will earn us a fortune on the black market,"came the fat man's voice. ZC then rewound the recording and played it two more times, probably just to rub it in, before stopping. I looked back at the two men and smirked. The expressions on their faces were freaking priceless.

"...Th-that...that won't do you any good if you don't know our names,"the short man stuttered.

"Reginald Johnson and Steven Ramsley,"I replied coolly, thoroughly enjoying the looks on as I read their minds. Before they could even think of a way to coherently ask the question they were wondering, I simply jabbed a thumb over my shoulder at Psyche. I immediately sensed feelings of amusement from not only him, but the rest of the team and even Krysta, and they all sounded like they were trying not to burst into laughter. I couldn't blame them, even I was trying not to laugh at the looks of pure shock on their faces. Finally, they looked at each other before simply turning on their heels and running off. Everyone waited for a moment to make sure the two men were out of earshot, then everyone broke out into hysterical laughter. Even Krysta was giggling pretty hard.

"That was fun,"I smirked.

"Nicely done, Ken,"Psyche chuckled."A smart move on your part telling them that I read their minds to take any suspicion from yourself."

"That was the idea,"I replied, turning around to face them all. I glanced at Krysta, who was staring at me with an amazed expression."You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine,"the fox replied."And I must say, you are the most brilliant human I've ever seen. And I've seen quite a few in my 300 years on this planet."

I blinked, me and the team looking at the fox in surprise."300? You don't look a day over 30."

Krysta smiled, looking flattered."Why, thank you."I looked at them all again.

"Alright, let's get back to what we were doing,"I said."Somehow, I doubt we've seen the last of those idiots, but we shouldn't try dwelling on them."The others nodded in agreement, then dispersed to go back to what they were doing, except for Serenity and Krysta, who I sat down."So, back to your training. Uhh..."I paused, trying to think."Uhhh..."I gave them a Mareepish look, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly."Err...what were we doing again?"The two females laughed.

"You were saying Hypnosis, Ken,"Serenity giggled.

I nodded."Right, right."Then, just to be funny, I rambled a little."Well, technically, I said "Hyp-", then that guy spoke up, then I finished with "-nosis," but yeah, basically the same principal."The two laughed again as I brought a hand to my chin."Now, how do we go about doing this...?"

"Well, we could take turns trying to Hypnotize each other to sleep,"Serenity suggested.

I looked at her."Well, that's not a bad idea, but I've got an alternative."

Krysta raised an eyebrow."Oh? And what would that be?"

I cracked a grin."Simple. You both try to put me to sleep."I jabbed a thumb at my chest as they blinked, then looked at each other in surprise before looking back at me.

"Are you sure about that, Ken?"Serenity asked skeptically."Do you really think your mind could stand up to both of ours?"

"Or do you think we're simply too weak to take you on our own?"Krysta asked, giving me an annoyed look.

I regarded them with a calm expression."Look, I'm not bragging or trying to insult you two, but my mind is pretty damn strong. And not just because I'm psychic."

"Very well,"Krysta conceded as Serenity nodded in agreement. I sat down cross legged in front of them and held my hands together, taking a deep breath. I bowed my head for a moment, closing my eyes and concentrating before looking back at them with a cool expression."Bring it."

Jeez, did they ever...

XXXX

End of Chapter

Ugh, this has taken FAR too long. For those who haven't read my profile, my computer has broken down completely and doesn't work anymore. But I've managed to access another computer to get this chapter out.

To anyone still bothering read this, please review. 


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:The City in the Trees

"Note to self:Buy an umbrella,"I said dryly, staring up at the cloudy sky through the canopy of trees above us, rain pouring down on our heads. It was also really windy for some reason. In case you couldn't guess, we were now in Fortree City, having just arrived here moments ago, only to find the place in the middle of a downpour/windstorm. Several treehouses were above our heads, connected by bridges blowing in the harsh wind and lead up to by ladders slicked by the rain.

"Jeez, my fur's getting soaked!"Anubis remarked almost cheerfully.

"You're not the only one,"Zaps grumbled, trying to shield himself with his large arms.

"At least you guys don't have a weakness to water!"Fang complained."This isn't very nice for me, either!"

"As a fire type, I can sympathize with you,"Krysta muttered, looking back at her drooping tails in irritation."Not to mention, my fur is getting drenched as well. I can barely hold my tails up."I glanced at Psyche, who shook his head in amusement, then closed his eyes in concentration.

"Again, we are glad we are but spirits,"Wrath said calmly."It makes everything so much easier and simpler."

"Good thing we're water-proof!"Zephyr stated happily, spinning around and throwing water on the rest of us, causing most of us to flinch away from him.

"Hey!"Serenity laughed, holding up her arms to block the spray.

"Watch it, ya little computer virus!"Zaps snapped in annoyance."Just because you're water-proof, it doesn't mean-"He stopped, blinking in confusion as barriers of psychic energy formed over him, Anubis, Fang, and Psyche, the Alakazam himself opening his now glowing eyes with a smile.

"There we are,"the Psychic said calmly.

"Whew. Thanks Psyche,"Fang said in relief.

"Hey, what about the rest of us?"Serenity asked with a frown.

"Do we not warrant your aid?"Krysta asked in annoyance.

Psyche glanced at them calmly."Why would you need my help? Can't you both use Safeguard?"

The two blinked, then flushed in embarrassment."Oh, right. Guess we forgot about that,"Serenity said Mareepishly. The two concentrated for a moment, then blue fields of energy formed over them both, shielding them from the rain, and they both smiled. Afterwards, most of them looked at me, but I merely shrugged.

"One of the few advantages of being human, we wear clothes,"I remarked, pulling on the flaps of my jacket for emphasis."Still, we should find the Pokemon Center. I'm not all too fond of standing in the rain for prolonged periods. Too cold for my tastes."

"Why, thank you, Ken. It's always nice to know someone appreciates my work,"a female voice sarcastically said from nearby. Blinking, we all looked towards the source of the voice to see a beautiful yet somewhat pale woman that appeared to be in her mid 30s standing under a short tree, a light blue umbrella in her hand. The woman had long, flowing blue hair and deep blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue blouse and blue jeans, as well as raindrop shaped earrings on either ear. I frowned thoughtfully as I approached, the team following, then I noticed that her earrings were actually a pair of Mystic Water jewels, very rare items that boosted the power of water type moves. That alone was enough to tell me who this really was. It certainly explained the rain, but not the harsh winds.

"What are you doing here...Kylie?"I guessed at her human name.

She smiled."It never ceases to amaze me how brilliant you can be. You guessed it on the first try. As for your question, I was just passing through the town. Didn't know you were coming through here already. You and your team are making pretty good progress."

"Well, they're the ones doing all the actual work. I'm just the guy flapping his lips,"I admitted honestly, gesturing to them.

The disguised legendary smirked."Always ready to crack a joke, aren't you? Your adventures haven't improved your attitude any, have they?"

"If anything, they've only made him worse,"Anubis remarked. I nodded in agreement, unable to argue with his sentiment.

"I'm more pessimistic than ever, really!"I said with mock cheerfulness. "Kylie" simply chuckled, shaking her head in amusement."Do you know where the pokemon center is? No offense, but like I said, I'd prefer not to get a cold if I can help it."

She rolled her eyes."Well, sooooorrry! It's not like I can just turn it off."She turned and began walking off into the city, motioning for us to follow with her free hand."Come on, the pokemon center's this way."At this, we followed after her, walking through, or rather, under, the city's buildings, looking around with interest. As we walked, Krysta walked up next to me, looking up at me with a curious expression.

"Ken, if I may ask, how exactly do you and the others know this human?"she asked.

I smirked."Well, for one thing, she's not exactly a human."

"What?"Krysta asked, looking understandably confused and skeptical."She certainly looks like a human to me."

"Looks aren't everything,"I replied."Do you know of any pokemon that causes rainstorms wherever they go without even doing anything?"

The Ninetales frowned at this, looking down thoughtfully."Well, aside from special Politoed, the only one I can think of...is..."Her eyes went wide, then she looked at the blue haired woman in shock before looking back at me."You...you mean she's actually...?"

"Yep,"I nodded. I frowned as I was forced to grab my hood to keep it from being blown off my head."Though I don't know what's going on with this crazy wind. I'll have to ask her once we get inside the center."Speaking of said building, I could now see it in front of dense bunch of trees. Most of the others made a Combeeline for it, sans me, Psyche, Serenity, ZC, and Kyogre herself; we didn't really mind it, and Zephyr was obviously enjoying it, which Kyogre took note of with a smile.

"It really is nice to know some people really enjoy the rain,"she remarked."Or pokemon, in this case."

"Well, if it makes you better, I would probably like the rain myself if it weren't so cold,"I told her.

"...Thanks?"Kyogre said hesitantly. I just smiled awkwardly, shrugging."Why do you hate the cold so much, anyway?"

I blinked at her question."...I really don't know actually,"I said, frowning in thought once more."I just...can't stand the cold. That's all there is to it, really."

"Hm,"Kyogre hummed as we walked inside the center to see the others stretching and drying off, looking happy to be out of the rain.

"By the way, do you know why the wind's so crazy outside?"I asked as we sat down near a table, the others sitting around us."Or are you causing that?"

She shook her head."No, rain and water are my thing. I can't make windstorms. But from what I've heard, there's a large flock of flying type pokemon who have roosted in the nearby forest and have been harassing the town for a few weeks."I frowned deeply at this, a bad memory starting to stir in my mind. I barely noticed Anubis, Serenity, Psyche, and even Wrath looking at me in concern, probably sensing my developing emotions.

"And...?"I prompted reluctantly."Has anyone been trying to do something about it?"

She nodded."The resident gym leader, Winona, is a pro when it comes to flying type pokemon. She's been trying to convince the birds to stop, but she hasn't had much luck."I sighed deeply, burying my face in my hands and rubbing my forehead with my fingers, trying to soothe a headache I felt coming on."Ken? What's wrong?"I could hear the concerned tone in her voice.

"Just...a bad memory, is all,"I murmured.

"What do you mean?"I heard Serenity ask, also sounding concerned.

"Ooooh,"Anubis grimaced, gaining everyone's attention."It's that one thing that happened when you were a kid, isn't it?"I nodded silently.

"What thing? What're you talkin' about?"Fang asked.

"It was...when I found out I was the only human in the world who could understand Pokemon,"I sighed, taking an unwanted trip down memory lane...

XXXX

End of Chapter

FINALLY! After a five month hiatus with no computer, I'm back to writing! Hopefully, my writing skills haven't deteriorated too much during my FAR too long break. 


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:Origin of Understanding

A young, five year old Ken hummed to himself as he tossed a stone at the surface of Lake Verity, only skipping across the surface twice before sinking. The young boy had been at this for a while, but he had yet to make a stone skip just three times before sinking below. He frowned, reaching down to pick up another stone, then he hurled the pebble at the lake.

"1, 2...darn it,"the boy grumbled as the stone sunk.

"You're not very good at that,"a small voice remarked behind him. Ken glanced past his shoulder to see a Starly fluttering up to him, looking up at him curiously.

"I'm doing my best,"the boy said as casually as he would speaking to another human. He reached down to grab another stone, then looked down to see there were no more around him."Aww, c'mon..."The Starly glanced to the side, then fluttered over to a patch of gravel, and grabbed some pebbles in it's talons before flying back over to the boy and dropping the pebbles next to him.

"Keep trying,"the bird prompted."Just throw 'em harder, but not too hard."Smiling, Ken nodded and picked a stone up, then reared his arm back before hurling the stone at the lake, causing it to skip four times before sinking."Yes!"Grinning triumphantly, Ken pumped a an arm.

"Nice job!'the Starly said cheerfully.

"Ken, honey! It's time to go home!"the boy's mother called from a few yard's away, a picnic basket hanging from one arm.

"Coming, Mom!"Ken called back, standing up before looking back down at the bird with a smile."I have to go home now. Bye!"

"Okay, see ya!"the Starly chirped before fluttering off. Ken dashed over to his mother, who smiled down at him kindly.

"Did you make a new friend, Ken?"she asked as they began to walk to Twinleaf Town.

"Yep!"Ken said cheerfully."The Starly helped me skip the rocls. It said I just needed to throw them harder."

His mother laughed."Oh, Ken..."She smiled, wondering just what kind of imagination her son had...and having no clue of his special gift. Not yet, at least.

"Do you want me to carry that, Mom?"Ken asked, refering to the basket his mother was holding.

"No, that's alright. I've got it,"his mother said."Thank you, anyway, Ken."The rest of the trip back passed by in peaceful silence, only broken by the occassional pokemon cry. However, as they approached the town, a faint buzzing sound could be heard from it, and Ken's mother frowned at the noise, though more out of tiredness and worry than confusion or irritation. A swarm of insect pokemon had invaded the town almost a month ago now, and had refused to leave for reasons unknown. Needless to say, the town was not in the best condition because of it, only barely managing to get by as it was. But while everyone wished the various bug types would leave, there was one person in all of town who wasn't the slightest bit bothered by them, and that person was Ken. In fact, he rather enjoyed having so many pokemon, regardless of type or intentions, wandering about town. He didn't really have any human friends, so he simply spoke to pokemon instead.

However, the townspeople were starting to become suspicious of this, some going so far as to think that the harmless little boy with no actual friends was telling the bugs to plague their town. It didn't help the boy's case that the bugs seemed to leave his house alone. Nobody actually spoke this thought aloud, of course, having no real evidence to back up this accusation, but they would soon find themselves easily believing this horrible thought that day with Ken's next actions.

"Mom, why does everyone want the bugs to leave town?"Ken asked, looking out his living room window to see a few Combee and other bugs buzzing about overhead."They're not that bad, are they?"

Ken's mother, who was reading on a nearby chair, sighed and closed her book."Well, honey, everyone wants them to leave because they're dangerous. People have gotten hurt and had to be sent to the hospital, not to mention they're ruining the nearby crops and generally messing around with everyone."

Ken frowned."Why are they doing that?"

"No one knows,"his mother shrugged."It's not like anyone will just walk up and ask them."Ken blinked at this, then looked thoughtful. Before he could respond, however, the phone began to ring. His mother picked it up and brought it to her ear."Hello? Yes, this is she...What? Oh my...Alright, I'll be right there. Okay...okay...Bye."She hung up the phone, another sigh escaping her lips as she stood up."I have to go now, honey. Trouble at work and all that. Will you be alright here by yourself?"

"Yeah, uh huh, sure Mom,"Ken mumbled, too focused on his thinking to pay attention. Noticing this, his mother couldn't keep from smiling. Only 5 years old and he was getting lost in his thoughts like a philosopher or something...

"Alright, I'll see you later, honey,"his mother leaned down and kissed the young boy's cheek, then turned and walked out the door, closing and locking it behind her. Ken blinked, realizing what had just happened and looking around.

"Oh...huh,"he said, looking around before going back to his thinking. If everyone was too scared to talk to the bug pokemon and ask them to leave, maybe he could do it. No pokemon had ever tried to hurt him before, the bug pokemon probably wouldn't either.

With his mind set, he walked towards the door and unlocked it, then closed the door behind him before dashing off into the woods where his mother had said the insects had made their nest. It didn't take long for the sound of buzzing to fill his ears, and he walked into a clearing where more bug pokemon than he could count were nested in the trees. The various insects stared at him with various expressions, from confused to surprised to angry. A large Vespiquen floated out from the trees and lowered down to him, looking at him with what might have been a frown. It was hard to tell since she had mandibles.

"Hello,"Ken said with a small wave.

"What are you doing in our nest, young human?"the large bee buzzed. There was no malice in her voice; only curiousity and mild irritation.

"Can I ask you something?"Ken asked.

"Technically, you just did, but go ahead,"the Vespiquen replied calmly.

"Why are you and your friends attacking my town?"Ken asked."You're really bothering everybody. What did we do to you?"The many insects buzzed angrily at this, as if insulted, but the Vespiquen simply rose a 'hand' to silence them.

"Normally, I would be angered by your blatant lack of knowledge,"she said calmly."But I can see that you're a mere grub yourself, so you can't be blamed for your naivete."

"My what?"Ken asked, proving the queen-like pokemon's point, though she seemed surprised for some reason the boy didn't understand.

"Nevermind,"the magestic bee sighed."Listen, boy. The reason our swarm has been harassing your human town is because they have built their city over our nesting grounds."When Ken merely gave a clueless frown, the Vespiquen rolled her eyes, though it was hard to tell since she had no pupils."Our nesting grounds are a place where our swarm visits every year for reasons you're probably too young to understand since before you were even born."

Ken blinked, now frowning in confusion."Wait...every year?"

"Correct,"the Vespiquen nodded.

"But...I'm 5 years old, and I've lived in town all my life, but I've never seen you before..."Ken said, looking confused. The queen's eyes went wide at this, the surrounding insects buzzing amongst themselves in confusion.

"That's unusual..."she murmured with a slight buzz."We would think we'd know our nesting grounds when we saw it."A thoughtful expression crossed her face."But come to think...on our way here, we did pass over some strange human building that was producing some utterly headache-inducing gas. We made it through that and continued on, but it may have disoriented our sense of direction..."She looked at him."Boy, do you know which way the human town Floaroma is?"

"Umm...no, but some of the adults in town might know where it is,"Ken said thoughtfully.

The Vespiquen nodded, floating down to hover right in front of the boy."Very well. If one of the other humans can point us in the right direction, we will gladly leave."She reared her head back slightly, then let loose a loud, though not unpleasant, buzz, and the surrounding bug pokemon buzzed back in reply, hovering out of the brushes and swarming (no pun intended) to her obediantly. She looked down at the surprised child and nodded to him."Lead the way."

XXXX

Later, Ken arrived with the swarm of bug pokemon in tow, which hardly went unnoticed by the townsfolk, who all walked out to meet the swarm with wide eyes and slack jaws at the sight of Ken leading them with a cheerful smile on his face. The bugs that had already been in town had all stopped what they were doing and flew over to the rest of the swarm. As Ken approached the town's resident, his mother managed to make her way through them.

"Ken! What are you doing?"his mother asked, eyes wide as she knelt down and grabbed her son's shoulders, looking from him to the Vespiquen and the other bugs repeatedly in confusion.

"Hi, Mom,"Ken said calmly."Do you know where Florim..Flora..."He frowned in confusion, then looked back at the Vespiquen."What was it called?"

"Floaroma Town, I believe,"the Vespiquen said calmly.

Ken nodded, then looked back to his now confused mother and the now suspicious townspeople."Yeah, Floaroma Town. Where's that place?"

His mother blinked, slowly looking to the Vespiquen and seeing the expectant look on her face. She looked back at Ken and very slowly asked "Why do you want to know, Ken...?"

Ken turned and pointed to the Vespiquen."She told me that she and her friends got lost trying to get there, and they thought that this was Florama...that town."Everyone stared at the child in shock, unable to believe what they were hearing.

"Ken...are you telling me you can actually understand pokemon?"his mother asked, looking stunned. The completely innocent look of confusion that crossed his face was all the answer she, or the townspeople for that matter, needed.

"What are you talking about?"he asked, genuinely stumped."Can't everybody?"

Before his mother could answer, the Vespiquen spoke up with an annoyed buzz to her voice."Sorry to interrupt, but we're starting to lose our patience. Do they know the way to Floaroma or not?"

"Oh yeah, where is that place, Mom?"Ken asked, temporarily forgetting his previous inquiry.

"Fl-Floaroma Town?"his mother asked, unable to keep from stuttering at her revelation. Ken nodded, then she stood up and looked at the Vespiquen."Err...Well, if you go northeast from here, you'll reach a city with a lot of big buildings. Keep going North from there and you'll reach Floaroma Town soon enough."Needless to say, it felt quite awkward giving directions to a pokemon, but a pleased expression crossed the Vespiquen's face, and she nodded.

"Alright, let's go, everyone!"the Vespiquen ordered. The swarm buzzed eagerly in reply, then they all took to the air, and flew northeast, finally leaving the town. Nobody cheered, however. Instead, every single person looked back at Ken, staring at the obliviously smiling boy with narrowed eyes. Ken turned to the large group with a smile, but this smile was instantly replaced with a scared frown.

"Wh-what's wrong?"Ken asked timidly."Didn't everybody want the bugs gone...?"

"Why are you all looking at my son like that?"his mother asked with a glare of her own, hugging the scared child close to her.

"If he can talk to pokemon, how do we know he didn't tell those bugs to invade town in the first place?"one man asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

Ken's mother gasped."How dare you? He's only 5 years old! He would never do that!"

"How do you know?"a woman asked."He doesn't have any friends in school, and he talks to pokemon more than other kids!"

"Pokemon are nicer..."Ken spoke up. He winced when everyone looked at him."The other kids really don't like me. They always call me names..."

"Oh, so now he's calling our kids bullies!"another woman said indignantly, none of the adults noticing their kids fidgeting awkwardly."He's a liar and a threat to everyone!"The group all shouted in agreement...

XXXX

"And that was the end of that,"I finished, leaning back in my seat with a bitter expression on my face, arms crossed behind my head."From that day on, it pretty much all but became law that I was to be treated like dirt on a daily basis for the rest of my life. And probably even after that, people would still be spitting on my grave. The reason I say that is because people have said it to my face. When I was 9."As they all stared at me in shock, Anubis sighed sadly and shook his head."Now do you all understand why I hate the rest of humanity?"

"So...let me see if I've got this straight..."Kyogre started, her expression sullen and her tone very quiet."You're telling us that...you saved your own hometown and people started treating you like garbage because of it...?"

"Ironic, isn't it?"I asked morosely."Some stupid little misunderstanding caused by some idiot scientists or something who couldn't keep the air around their factory clean ruined my entire childhood. I would say it's funny how things work out that way, but there's really nothing funny about it at all, is there?"They all just stared at me, apparently not knowing what to say. Suddenly, I felt Serenity grab my waist, hugging me tightly and burying her head into my side. I stared down at her silently for a moment, then silently wrapped an arm around her.

Finally, Kyogre stood with a deep sigh."Well, I'd best be going. Good luck with your gym battle."

"Yeah, thanks,"I muttered, waving her off."See ya later."She nodded, then walked off and disappeared past the center's door. Once she had left, I gently pulled Serenity away from myself and addressed the others."Once Kylie leaves and the rain's gone, we'll head out to see if we can do something about that flock of birds, then we can get on with our gym battle. Alright?"When they all simply stared at me, I looked back at them sternly."Stop it right now. While I appreciate that you guys care, you can't be thinking about it during our gym battle, otherwise, we ARE going to lose. Am I understood?"Seeing my reason, they all nodded reluctantly, and I couldn't stop myself from sighing."We can...talk about it later if you want...but now we need to focus on the present, not dwell on the past. Got it?"Straightening up, they nodded again, much less reluctantly this time.

"Very well, Ken,"Psyche said."Though I wish you had told us all this sooner, you are correct. We have to focus on ridding the town of the flock, then on our coming battle."

"But Ken, we WILL speak of this later,"Wrath said with the same sternness I had just shown them. I smiled wryly, then stood up and popped a few cricks in my back.

"Alright. Let's just go already."

XXXX

End of Chapter

And there you have it. The story that started it all. 


End file.
